MSG 0079: No Sympathy for the Sands of Time
by Remir
Summary: UPDATE! Ch. 8, Where Beasts Dare, is finally up! Experience the joys and sorrows of the OYW through the eyes of Cpt. Jayce Adalin, ace pilot of the 11th Sandman Mobile Assault Battalion.
1. Prologue, Introversion

This is my first Mobile Suit Gundam fanfiction to ever be showed to more than one person, so you should feel special for reading it. But seriously, I started working on this as a sequel to another story, but I ended up liking this one a lot more, so if I get a lot of good reviews for it, I might start putting on the original one (after A LOT of editing). I guess I should also mention that I take a lot of liberties throughout this story, mainly just to make it better, so for those of you that get mad at me for going against the original series (which is doubtless to happen), please just keep that in mind. Also, the 301st Zeon Expeditionary Brigade and the 11th "Sandman" Mobile Assault Battalion are mine, so please don't use them without my consent. And one last thing, if I mention any other units, they are purely random numbers and names and any resemblance to anyone else's is purely coincidental (i.e. let me know and I'll change them ASAP). So, read, and enjoi.

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**MSG 0079: No Sympathy for the Sands of Time**

**Prologue - Introversion**

**Kuwait, February 14, 0080**

_Space, that great darkness, the Last Emptiness someone had once called it. _It really didn't matter who, more so the fact that it truly was terrifying to think of spending eternity floating through it.

How weird, he had thought many times before, how the hell could a Spacenoid be terrified of space? Well, it wasn't so much being in space, but dying in that coldness, it was terrifying.

His eyes rolled up toward the screen in front of him. The sky was beginning to turn red as the sun began to set, or was it the blood in his eyes? Was the sun even setting? What time was it? It seemed an eternity had passed since they had been attacked, an eternity since he had watched his friends disappear under fire and sand, an eternity since that goddamn Guncannon had blown a hole in his gut.

Silence, aside from the ringing in his ears. The battle was still raging, had to be. There was no way it could be over just yet, could it? His eyes shifted toward the gaping hole in the cockpit, only two feet to his left. Explosions were still erupting everywhere outside, but it was still eerily silent. Sand blew in from the hole, a shell had just hit not even 10 meters from him, and yet he still didn't hear it. There was no need to worry much about it though. No, the pain in his gut and along his left arm told him there was really no point in worrying about his sudden hearing impairment.

A cough, felt, but never heard. A warm liquid trickled down his lip. Blood. It had to be. He didn't feel like wiping it away, allowing it to drip from the tip of his chin down to his neck. Did he bite his lip again? Yes, but that wasn't where this blood had come from. No, that had come from much deeper inside him.

Struggling to lift his head, he saw the wound in his gut for the first time. He tried a few times to lift his left hand to cover it, but realized quickly that his arm was out of commission for the time being when it refused to move. Using his free hand, he tried to lift his left arm, only to find his fingers still tightly wrapped around the joystick. Taking the time to pry each finger off, he examined his wounded arm for a moment. Shredded by shrapnel, but still in one piece for the most part. Shoving it into his gut to stop the bleeding, he couldn't help but wince at the increased pain. At least it would hold of the bleeding for a little while.

_What was that?_ He didn't hear it, more felt it. Spending the greater portion of a year inside the giant machine, it had almost become an extension of himself. What it felt, he felt, because it was him. Footsteps, who knew how many? _Who the hell could it be? _Fear and adrenaline began coursing through his veins, his heart began pounding hard in his chest. _Stop! It'll just make the bleeding worse. _

_Breath, that's right, just breath. Calm yourself, control your breathing, just calm down! _He couldn't speak, the words were coursing through his brain, lightly across his throat. He struggled to slow his breathing. _The pain! Ignore it! Calm down, calm down!_

The cockpit opened, blinding him slightly from the sun shining directly in. A figure stood there for a moment, no words said, a pistol poised in his hand, aimed directly between his eyes.

_This is it, my final goodbye. Twenty-five years, that seems a proper age to die at. So long, Earth, you won't be missed, as I'm sure you'll never miss the Desert Butcher._


	2. Ch 1, Space and all that it Encompasses

**Chapter 1 - Space and all that it Encompasses**

**February 20, 0079**

**Grenada, Luna**

Silence, that was the first thing the young ensign noticed as he stared out the window of his office, his grey blue eyes never blinking. Space was always silent, that cold bleak darkness, so cruel, so lonely. It seemed an eternity since he'd last left that chair and sat in another chair, surrounded by panels and screens, and death. It was almost two months since the One Week War, one month since Loum, and yet he felt like it had been a lifetime ago.

A sigh escaped his lips, and he felt himself unconsciously flick the rightmost ribbon on his chest. His eyes glanced down. The Zeon Wounded Heart, that was what he had flicked. He let out a smile, unconsciously tonguing the small callus on his lower lip from biting it so many times. He glanced at his left knuckles, the scars from the shrapnel that had been the cause of his receiving the medal still present.

A lone Zaku I slowly drifted by, several pieces of construction material in its arms. He almost wished...

"Ensign Neubach, Sir." The voice quickly snapped him out of his daydreaming.

"Um, yes, what is it?" He replied, quickly snatching up some the papers in front of him to clean up a little bit.

"Permission to enter?"

"Yes, yes, of course."

His eyes drifted over to the door. A young Petty Officer 3rd Class entered the room.

"I have a message for you, sir. I was instructed to hand it to you personally."

Sure enough, in his hand was a letter, sealed and addressed to him in a familiar handwriting.

"Thank you, Petty Officer." the young man replied, still in a half daze from his daydream as he took the letter. He sat there for a moment merely looking at it, not making any movements until he recalled that the messenger was still there.

"Dismissed."

He didn't hear the reply, didn't care too much about it either. If this was what he had thought it to be... He quickly tore the letter open, unfolding the paper and flattening it before reading it. His face lit up and his lips broke out into a smile as he read it and reread it several times. This was definitely what he had been waiting for, the transfer.

**February 27, 0079**

**Z.S.S Ariel, L1 Point**

The bridge was alive, or at least, more alive than the old office at Granada for the young Ensign. A smile spread across his lips. It was Lieutenant Junior Grade now, or at least it would be as soon as he arrived at his new station. Along with his transfer came a promotion, one he felt he only slightly deserved. There were many more out there that deserved it more than he, but unfortunately, most of them resided now in the mass graves of twisted metal that floated just outside the window.

Loum. A shiver ran down his spine. There were more memories here than he wished to remember.

**January 15, 0079**

Loum, L1 Point

Chaos. That was the only word one could use to explain it.

Explosions ripped apart a Musai no more than a few hundred meters from him, causing his Zaku to shake violently from the shock waves. "Hold it together!" he screamed into his comm as he tried to keep the other three Zaku pilots with him. A Sabrefish streaked by, smoke trailing behind it from a light wound it had received earlier. A quick burst from his 120mm autocannon, and the wounded Sabrefish became a scrap of metal after its ignition.

His eyes furiously scanned the scene. There was no way to tell which way the battle was turning. Both sides seemed increasingly exhausted by the intense slug. There had to be some way out, some way to find a...

An explosion behind him rocked his entire body and he felt his blood run cold and his heart stop beating. He couldn't breathe, couldn't bear to look. He knew what that explosion was, knew what it meant to Zeon. His hands shaking, he swung the eye of his Zaku II toward the direction of the explosion, towards the colony they were supposed to be hijacking...

**February 27, 0079**

"Are you alright, Ensign?" The voice of the Ariel's Captain snapped him once more into reality. "Not feeling well?"

"I..." he looked down at his hands. They were a pale white color and shaking. "I'm alright, Sir."

"Fought here, didn't you?"

"Ye..Yes, Sir." the young man replied. Hand still shaking a little, he brought it up to his left breast and touched the medal dangling next to his Wounded Heart one.

"I see." The Captain said with a sigh. "The Ariel just barely missed the battle. We ran into a few Salamis just before we reached the battlefield. Managed to hold them off just long enough for a lucky ace to bag them before they could do any harm. Good thing too, I doubt we could have actually won against them. I commended the pilot for a medal."

"Did he ever receive it?"

"Well, given that my only description of him was a light blue shield and head, I don't actually know if he really ever did."

The young Ensign's hand wrapped tighter around the medal. "I believe he did, Sir."

**Equitor Base, temporary HQ of 1st Terrestrial Mobile Division L1 Point**

"I trust you made it with no problems?"

"None, whatsoever, Sir."

"Good." Lt. Colonel Friedrich Neubach replied as he sat at his desk. For an officer's space, it was fairly barren, save for three boxes filled to the brim with files and mementos. "Now, as I'm sure you are aware of, you are being promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade, correct?"

"Yes, Sir." the young Ensign replied.

"Well, since you are also being transferred to the Earth Attack Forces, I should mention that most of us don't use the Navy ranks, instead, we prefer the old Army ranks. Get used to being called 1st Lieutenant, or just Lieutenant. Got that?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Good. Well, Lieutenant Neubach, looks like everything is in order..."

"Um, Lt. Colonel, Sir."

"Yes?" his eyes looked up at the young man, eyes that were lightly piercing his.

"Um, if you'll look carefully here..." Neubach breathed heavily as he pointed at on of the forms in front of the Lt. Colonel. "I'm not going to be called Neubach anymore."

There was no reply. The Lt. Colonel looked down at the form for a moment. "What the hell is this, Dietrich?"

He knew he would be mad, it was just like him. "Sir, I..."

"Screw formalities for a moment, little brother." His tone was cold as ice, that was the voice he had grown up with.

"Friedrich, I..." the young man took a deep breath. "I don't want my men thinking I'm just an appointee."

Friedrich looked up at his little brother for a moment, his eyes unblinking. "But you are one. You have been appointed here because you wouldn't shut up about how you hated being in space."

"You didn't have to be the one to accept my transfer!" Dietrich replied angrily. "I'm sure I would have been accepted somewhere else! You didn't have to try to baby me like you did Richard!"

"Heinrich knew I was only looking out for what was best for him."

"By putting him in your unit too?! No wonder he filed for a transfer out! He wanted to be in space, not me!"

"I was just trying to make sure he survived."

"Oh, and a good job you did of that!"

"It wasn't my fault, you know that."

"You drove him away, made him change his name. He could have stayed, we could all have been together, there's other units like that."

"Then why do you want to change your name?"

"Because..." Lt. Neubach was silent for a moment. "Because Ensign Dietrich Johann Neubach is dead, Friedrich. All that's left is Lt. Jayce Dietrich Adalin."

Lt. Col Neubach merely sighed at this retort. "Alright, Lieutenant. Report to your post. Civic Company, 11th Mobile Assault Battalion, 301st Desert Expeditionary Brigade."

Jayce nodded, and made a move to leave, stopping only to hear the final parting words of his brother.

"Oh, and Dietrich, don't screw this up. Nobody else wanted you. I did it because our father asked me too."

"Yes, Sir."

After he was sure the door was closed completely, the Lt. Colonel opened a small drawer on the right side of his desk and pulled out a small framed picture from it. Three faces, all similar in build and with the same piercing grey blue eyes, stared back at him. All were dressed in the same green uniform, each with different decorations for their different ranks. The smallest smile formed on his lips and the slightest audible laugh that could easily be mistaken for a grunt left his throat as he looked down on it. "Looks like you were right, Heinrich, he does take after Mother. And it looks like you were also right...he did like you more."

"Dammit!" Jayce cursed as he slammed his fist into the wall. "Friedrich...why do you have to be such a, a..." He couldn't find the word he was looking for, nothing seemed hateful enough to describe his older brother. Slowly, he pulled his hand away from the wall, taking his time examining it. The lightest stain on his glove told him he had reopened the wound for the hundredth time.

"Looks like you just had your first meeting with the Colonel." A voice said behind him. Spinning on his heals, he turned to meet the smiling face of a young Asian man. "You're predecessor did the same thing too, only with his face."

Jayce gave a weak laugh at this comment. "I can't imagine why..."

"2nd Lt. Naga Mitsuharu, and you are?" Naga asked, offering his hand.

"1st Lt. Jayce Adalin." he replied, giving his left hand a quick squeeze before letting go to grab Naga's.

"Come on, I'll show you around."

"These are the boys. Boys, say hello to your new platoon leader." Naga called as he entered the wardroom, his laughter still echoing from the hall.

"Afternoon, Sir." came the response as one, deafened by the shuffling of feet to attention.

"Whoa, whoa, easy now, boys." There's no need for formalities just yet, after all, he is the one who stole my job." Naga continued, laughter his only reply. "Eh, I'm just joking with you, Lieutenant, I can wait a little longer for my promotion." He threw a wink towards Jayce as he finish his sentence, though it was missed by the young man.

Jayce nodded and looked around the wardroom for a moment. Nine young faces smiled back, all looking at him full of hope and expectation. They were all green, he realized. Was he the only person on this base with actual combat experience?

"Alright," he began, "I am 1st Lt. Jayce Adalin, and I am the platoon leader of 2nd Platoon. I just transferred here from Granada." _A paper pusher._ His eyes caught the lip movement and his ears focused in for a moment. He pressed on, however, unaffected by this small comment. "Before I was stationed at Granada, I was stationed aboard the Z.S.S Erich von Manstein, Pandora, and the Calypso during the One Week War, Operation British, and Loum, respectively." The comments stopped. You couldn't disrespect someone who had fought in the first month, surviving all of them was a feat within itself, in one piece was nearly an act of God to many. "You'll be seeing more of me in the next few days so I can learn your names and faces before operations begin. So, uh, yeah. That's all I needed you for. Dismissed." And with that, both Jayce and Naga left the wardroom and began to make their way to the officers' quarters.

"Lieutenant, Sir! Please wait!" a voice behind them called, prompting them to stop. A moment later, a young woman floated over to them, she had to be no older than twenty years old and had the chevrons of a Sergeant on her sleeve. "I'm sorry, Sir, it's just...I wanted to ask you...Since you said you were stationed on the Pandora, I was wondering if you met my brother onboard?"

Jayce looked at the Sergeant for a moment. "What did he look like?"

"A lot like me, except he had brown eyes and a little taller. Oh and he had a little scar under his left eye..."

She kept going, but he stopped paying attention the moment he mentioned that scar. He remembered her brother, he only wished it had been under more pleasant circumstances.

**January 16, 0079**

**Z.S.S. Pandora, L1 Point**

"Alright, just sit right there for a moment. You must be exhausted." the young soldier tried to reassure the man wrapped tightly in a thick blanket. He stood there for a moment, looking down at the man.

The man's wild eyes searched the room, as though trying to grasp where he was. His eyes halted on the crest painted on the wall, a large black and white cube with an old man trapped inside of it. Below it read "Pandora, trap that which cannot be known."

The younger man's eyes followed his, and he laughed as he looked at it. "Yep, that's our ship's crest. Like it? Makes sense when you think about it, huh?"

"What happened to the Erich von Manstein?" the older man asked in a near whisper.

"The what?"

"The Erich von Manstein, my base ship. Where is it?" the man asked.

"Oh, um, I dunno." the younger soldier replied. "So what was it like out there? It must have been amazing out there."

"No."

"I'm sorry?"

"It wasn't."

Both looked up when the ship's captain entered the small room, his eyes staring intently on the floor. "Well, son, looks like you managed to make it out alive." he said after a few minutes of silence. "I just got off the line with command about your base ship, the Erich von Manstein, correct?" he continued. "None of the records have shown that it has returned. The Munich says that it didn't make it...I'm really sorry, son."

The man nodded. Standing up he removed the blanket, letting it fall to the ground. He revealed his space suit, which was torn in several places and covered with blood. His eyes looked off into the distance, and he turned and made his way down the hall. His feet took him to the infirmary, where he sat atop one of the tables and patiently waited for a doctor to come in.

"So, you must be the pilot we picked up earlier." the doctor muttered as he walked in. He looked over the young man for a moment, eyeing each splotch of blood or tear in his uniform. "Hm, a minor shrapnel wound to the wrist, a couple of scraps here and there, looks like you didn't end it too badly. Get some good kills on those Feddie bastards?"

"Of course." the young man muttered, a little bit of blood dribbling from his mouth.

"Hm, looks like you bit your lip real bad, nothing I can't fix." the doctor remarked as he looked up. "I hear your ship didn't make it, that's too bad. Whaddya think when the Pandora showed up?"

The young man spit a large glob of blood on the floor of the infirmary. "About damn time."

"Look out, coming through!" a voice screamed from the door.

Jayce looked up just in time to see four Corpsmen rushing in a young man on a gurney.

"If you'll excuse me." the doctor said before rushing over to the new arrival.

"By all means..." was all Jayce could manage to reply. Curiosity overtaking him, he stepped off the bed and made his way over toward the operation room, stopping in front of the door and instead walking around to the side where there was a window he could watch through.

The Corpsmen were rushing about as the doctor made his way in, fully dressed in operating clothes. The young man they had rushed in was in horrible shape, cuts and blood everywhere. He watched for several minutes as they tried to resuscitate, and watched the sorrow in their eyes when they finally admitted to themselves that this man was indeed dead. They all filed out silently in single file, one Corpsman stopping only to fling his cap off in anger and curse loudly. Only the doctor remained behind, unplugging all the machines and turning them off.

He knew he shouldn't have, but after the Corpsmen left, he entered the operating room and stood near the door. "What happened, doc?"

A deep look of sorrow washed over the doctors face as he turned to glance over at Jayce. "About an hour or two before we found you, one of our reactors in the left engine went out. We sent some men down to fix it, but the chamber they were in caught fire. Almost managed to contain it too, but it caught on to the other reactor and the entire engine lit up. We keep finding men like this every few minutes or so, each one worse off than the one before them. There's not much chance for them but, dammit! if there's a chance than you can bet I'm going to try and save every one of them."

Jayce nodded as he looked down at the young man. He had dark red hair, or at least it appeared that way with the now visible burns all across his face. An old scar on his left cheek caught his eye for a moment, but then he looked away.

"It's a shame they send boys like him to die, he had a nice family back home." The doctor commented before slowly making his way to the door.

"Yeah." Jayce agreed. "A damn shame..."

**February 27, 0079**

"Did you hear me, Sir?" the Sergeant asked.

"Yeah, I mean, yes, I heard you." Jayce replied, snapping back once more. If only there was a way he could get rid of those memories. He shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I don't think I ran into him. I was only on the Pandora for a few days before Operation British. I left on the Calypso right afterwards. If I met him, it would have only have been for a minute or two to be honest." Those memories...

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In case you didn't notice, I enjoy flashbacks, so I hope you don't mind whenever I put them up. As for anyone who doesn't think a pilot from space can actually do well on Earth, I'll explain it in the next chapter as soon as I finish it. As for the medals, like I said earlier, I like to take liberties (plus I could never find a page on Zeon medals) so I just guessed on how they would be done based on the medals of the US military. Also, I'm still getting used to so if the dates and locations come out weird, it's just because I haven't figured out how to fully edit everything. Lastly, I know Friedrich said they would be using "the old Army ranks" but since I'm having to memorize Marine ranks, let's just say he was mistaken since it's the future and whatnot... 

P.S. I work faster with reviews.


	3. Ch 2, To Go Where the Sky so Blue

**Chapter 2 - To Go Where the Sky so Blue**

**February 29, 0079**

**Equitor Base, L1 Point**

"Alright, men, let's go over this one more time before Captain Durst and the Colonel show up and you embarrass me." Jayce said to the four pilots in front of him. He couldn't help but smile. In two days, he had memorized every face and name in not only his platoon, but in the entire company, including every mechanic and support member. "Sgt. Thompson, where are we dropping at?"

A young man sitting in front of him jumped to his feet as his name was being called. The smallest in Jayce's platoon, he had light brown hair, almost as light as Jayce's, and dark brown eyes. "Tabriz, Iran, Sir!"

"Correct, and why are we landing there?"

"Since we are a desert based unit and our specialty resides in desert regions, we would be of no use to units landing more north. We are instead going to use our training to assault the desert based Federation units to prevent them from reinforcing the Federation forces that are being assaulted in the Ukraine."

"And our secondary mission? Cpl. Dix?"

The young woman he had spoken to two days earlier stood up from her seat. Her green eyes burned into his for a moment as she replied, "Our secondary mission is to secure and fortify any Federation installations that will help to aide our push into Asia."

"Excellent. And what units are going to be accompanying us?"

"Besides the other companies of the 11th, elements of the 12th, 54th, 63rd, and the 601st in the original invasion operation and will disperse upon completion to accomplish their own secondary missions."

"Good, good. Now, Staff Sgt. Bradford, what's going to be our motto for this operation?"

Staff Sgt. Michael Bradford, probably the heaviest built pilot in the entire battalion stood up. He looked like one of those old posters of US Marines Jayce had once seen when he had had to do a history paper back at the Academy. "Head towards the horizon." he barked, his deep voice echoing in the small room they were in.

"And what does that mean, exactly?"

Bradford smiled. "That Earth's ours for the taking."

Jayce couldn't help but laugh. "Exactly." They really didn't need to really know that, but he thought it would be a fun thing to do. "Alright, any questions? Anybody confused about anything? No? Alright, good to go. Bradford, if you'll do the honors and lead them to the briefing room where the Lt. Colonel will repeat everything I've already told you, we can get prepped before everyone else."

"Yes, Sir." Bradford replied before making his way to the door, followed closely by Thompson, Dix, and 2nd platoon's final pilot, Cpl. Kyle Petrowski.

Jayce sighed loudly as he picked up the file he had brought with him.

"Giving the boys a little prep for the brief?" a voice asked from the door.

"Yes, Sir. I think they're good and ready for the operation now." Jayce replied without looking up. He recognized the voice almost immediately. "Are you going to be present for the main briefing, Captain Durst?"

Captain James Durst, company commander of Civic Company, shrugged slightly in response. "Well, it's not going to be something you and I haven't heard already. The Colonel'll come up and tell them everything we've already told 'em, get 'em all fired up and ready to kill some Feddies, and we'll all praise Zeon and Spacenoid Independence and whatnot. You've been to one, been to 'em all. Zabi's might make a speech though, might be something worth listening to, doubt it though."

"Not a Zabi fanatic, eh, Captain?" Jayce asked with a small laugh, looking over at Durst.

Durst merely smiled and shook his head, "Like I said, might be something worth listening to, might not be. How'd the sims go? Think you're ready for the ground yet?"

Jayce merely shrugged. "I'd already had about nine months training for ground combat, but I pissed off my commander and he shipped me over to a space unit, so this has really just been getting reacquainted, Sir."

"Oh, really? And what did you do that warranted such a transfer?"

"I took a pot shot at him at the beginning of an exercise. Nicked his suit and took him out the game before he could do anything."

"I'm guessing he was on your team?"

"No, Sir. It's sort of funny because I accidently discharged my 120 and it happened to hit the CO not even a minute into the exercise."

"Well, I hope we can put some lucky shots like that to use out there." Durst said with a loud laugh. "Provided, of course, that it's a Feddie CO, and not your own."

"Of course, Sir."

"Lt. Adalin, Sir." Another voice from the doorway called.

Jayce spun on his heals as his name was called. It was still odd for him to get used to a new name, but not once had he heard a snicker or complaint about his transfer to his brother's unit. It was exactly how he wanted it to be. "Yes?"

"You're needed in the hangar, Sir."

Jayce glanced over to Durst for a moment. "Well, duty calls I suppose."

"Carry on." was the captain's only response.

----

"So, is that it?" Jayce asked as he stared up at the MS-06F Zaku he had been assigned.

"That's it." the technician, Corporal Russ Stinton replied. "It's the new model they just finished production on. They didn't give us too many, so we had to disperse them first to the company commanders and then on down the line through the officers with the most experience."

"And I'm one of them, eh?"

"According to our records, Sir."

"What about Lt. Mitsuharu?"

"The Colonel didn't think he had enough experience to warrant an F-Type, Sir. He's been assigned a C-Type."

"And those are capable of ground combat?"

"Provided the removal of the verniers normally used for space combat, yes, Sir."

"I see." Jayce muttered as he took a few steps closer toward his new Zaku. "Like the paint job, the Colonel's choice?"

"Partially. Each company was allowed to choose their camouflage style. This was Captain Durst's choosing."

Jayce looked up at the Zaku again, his eyes running lightly over the hundreds of multi-colored squares covering the Zaku. "I bet putting digital camo on was a pain, huh?"

"Eh, we let the machines do most of the work. If you'll notice, though, we kept your original shield. I don't think it's tactically sound to keep it that color, Sir."

His eyes following the body of the mobile suit, he couldn't help but smile as he stared at the nearly sky blue shield that contrasted so greatly with the brighter desert colors of the rest of the suit. "It's a lucky charm. And if it turns out not to be, I'll dump it."

"Whatever you say, Sir."

**March 1, 0079**

**HLV 74, 100 Km from Point of No Return, Earth's Orbit**

The speeches were done, or at least to Jayce they were done. It had taken everything he could to not doze off while Friedrich talked to the battalion and then while the Zabis gave their speeches about how they were fighting a war for not just Zeon independence, but for all Spacenoids throughout. It wasn't that he didn't believe in their cause, he would never have joined the war effort if he didn't, it was just that he had already seen the "glory" it would take to reach that goal. And he wasn't after the glory, no, he'd had enough of that in space. The only reason he had wanted to stay in the military was because he had become addicted to a drug, a drug only found in the seat of his mobile suit.

He sat calmly in the seat of his Zaku, the cockpit pitch black save for the light blue glow from the instrument panel before him, as had become custom to him before the launch. This time, though, he wouldn't be launched into space, if all went according to plan like he was hoping, he would be launched out onto Earth. It was funny, as far back as he could remember, he had never once stepped on the soil where his ancestors once lived, but then again, there were thousands, perhaps millions or even billions like him. Or there had been, at least, before half the population of humanity had been wiped out.

"Fifteen minutes until commencement of operations, Sir." the HLV pilot, Rodriguez, or was it Rodgerson? alerted him, his voice echoing through his helmet.

"Copy that." he replied. "How's our coverage looking?"

"Sky is clear, hardly any clouds at all. But that shouldn't matter much since we're not going to be landing anywhere near enemy forces."

"Of course. How's our link to command?"

"All comm system's are at optimum range. We're picking up 12th Battalion also."

"Good, good. And this'll be maintained throughout the entirety of the drop?"

"For the most part. It'll probably fade out during entry, but it should pick right back up as soon as we break the atmosphere."

"Alright, good. Thanks."

"Roger, over and out."

"Everyone prepped and ready?" Jayce called through the platoon frequency.

"Good to go!" Bradford responded.

"Perfect, we've got about ten minutes before operation commencement, so, if anyone has anything they'd like to say before we drop, say it now."

"Hey, Dix, you hear that? Ten minutes. Plenty of time for you to come join me in my suit." Thompson called, a laugh threatening to interrupt each word as he said it.

"I'd love to, but I doubt I'd fit with your ego taking up so much space." Dix replied dryly.

"Ouch, even I felt that." Petrowski laughed.

"Eh, suit yourself." Thompson replied, a pause where Jayce assumed he was giving a shrug. "If you want to cuddle after we can do that too."

Dix only laughed. "If you can rack up more kills than me, then we'll see."

"Really? Oh, you are so totally on!" The excitement in Thompson's voice clear as a bell.

"Bradford, you're awfully quiet. Nothing you'd like to add?" Jayce asked.

"Eh, I think I'll save it for the drop, Sir."

"Whatever floats your boat." Jayce muttered. The HLV gave a sudden jerk, and Jayce knew they were now moving. "Alright, cut the chatter, we're Earthbound now." Hitting one of the dials on the panel, he switched the frequency back to the battalion channel. Rodriguez had been right, he could hear 12th Battalion.

"_Alright, boys, we're starting our drop. Remember, we're hitting the ground before the 11__th__ can, so that means we can get more kills before they can." _12th Battalion's Colonel was saying.

"_Just because you're landing first, doesn't mean we won't still beat you to the target."_ Lt. Colonel Neubach's voice suddenly came on.

"_Is that so? Well, I guess we'll have to put a nice little wager on it."_

"_Sounds good to me, what do you have in mind?"_

"_I hear you can cook a mean steak, that right?"_

"_People have said that, yes."_

"_How about, if we get to the objective first, you'll cook steaks for the entire battalion?"_

There was a short pause while Friedrich considered this before making his reply._ "And if we win?"_

"_Then we'll bow down and kiss each and every one of your boys' boots. How's that sound?"_

"_Terms seem well enough. Agreed. See you on the ground."_

"_Roger that. Oh, and you might as well go ahead and start finding a grill big enough, my boys like to eat."_

"_So I've seen."_ Friedrich remarked dryly. _"Out."_

"_Out."_

There was a pause for a moment, Jayce knew what was going to come next.

"_11__th__, you better not lose."_

Jayce couldn't help but laugh for a moment. It was just like Friedrich.

"Two minutes until atmospheric entry." Rodriguez called through the comm, a series of clicks following his voice as he flipped several switches.

"Roger that." Jayce replied, flipping on the monitor screens in front of him. He swung the mono-eye camera around the cramped innards of the HLV toward the rest of his platoon. "Start link to outside camera."

A small window opened in the corner of his monitor completely filled with the oranges and blues of Earth's surface. Several dots littered the screen, glowing bright red and orange as the other HLV's began their descent.

"Thirty seconds!"

"Oh God!" Jayce struggle for a moment to hold back the urge to vomit himself as he listened in great detail to Sgt. Thompson losing his last meal.

"Oh, come on, Leon! Grow some balls!" Dix called over to him, her voice slightly mumbled from stifling vomiting also.

"Ten seconds!"

The entire HLV began to vibrate as gravity took hold of it. The screen showing the outside world was engulfed in a blinding fiery light. Jayce pulled the straps on his seat harness as tight as could to keep himself from bouncing around the cockpit like a pinball. "Hold on! It's just like the exercises!"

The vibration turned into violent shaking, so bad that Jayce quickly began to suspect that the ship would break up before they even cleared the atmosphere.

"Almost through!"

"Sir!" Bradford called. "I-i-i-i-I'd li-i-i-i-ke to s-s-s-ay it n-n-n-ow!" his voice broken from the shaking ship.

"What?" Jayce yelled back.

"Th-th-th-th-the stars at ni-i-i-i-ight, are b-b-big and br-r-r-r-i-i-i-i-i-ght!" A series of claps followed from the other pilots, not even in the slightest bit in-sync, and they all called out at once, "Deep in the he-ea-eart of T-t-t-t-exas!"

"C-c-c-c-c-ute." was all Jayce could say as he laughed.

"Atmosphere cleared! Welcome to Earth!" Rodriguez called. The violent shaking having ceased, his voice came out clear as a bell.

Sure enough, as Jayce peered at the small window on his monitor, the entire view was of the Earth's surface, darkened by the night sky. "Earth." he said in a near whisper. It was better than he could have imagined it, so peaceful, so pure, so romantic, so...

"_Alright, 12__th__, just remember, we get there first, Colonel Neubach's cooking us steaks, so move your little ass—_

The 12th Battalion's colonel was cut short as bright flashes from the surface caught Jayce's attention. "What the...?"

An HLV just below their's erupted into a bright fireball. A realization came to mind as Jayce opened his mouth to say something but couldn't find the words he was looking for.

"Holy shit! Was that the Colonel's?" Thompson screamed.

"No, no. He hasn't even broken the atmosphere yet. That must have been one of the 12th's!" Jayce yelled back. The other pilots in the rest of the HLV were getting just as anxious as he was.

"_How the hell did they get here so fast?"_ someone screamed.

Another HLV below them erupted into a fireball, its smoke trailing before lighting up the surface as it slammed into the earth.

"_Shit, that was the Colonel's!"_ a pilot from the 12th screamed.

"_They've got us zeroed in! How the hell did they—_

Another HLV erupted and followed its two brethren to be the first to the surface, its cargo never reaching the ground alive.

"What's going on?!" Jayce screamed.

"It's the Feddies! It looks like we dropped right on top of them!" Rodriguez yelled back.

"That's impossible! We should be miles away from anyone!"

"Well, someone made a mista— Oh, shit!"

The entire HLV shook violently, a deafening roar echoing throughout it. Jayce quickly started to become sick, his eyes closed from the fear of being killed by the eventual destruction of the transport ship. His eyes glanced at the screen and he quickly realized they weren't dead but were instead tumbling to the surface, a large trail of smoke following them. He closed his eyes again, waiting for the eventuality. One thought did cross his mind though, if he did die, he was sure as hell going to haunt whoever screwed this up.

"Shit, shit! They hit the stabilizers!" he could hear Rodriguez scream. "Try to at least stop the spinning!"

"I can't! It's a miracle we haven't already cooked off!" the other pilot screamed back.

"Shit! Eject the cargo!"

"We can't! We're still too high!"

"It doesn't matter! Do it now!"

Another loud bang, and Jayce realized they had blown the top off the hangar area of the HLV. With a quick jerk, he opened his eye in time to watch as his and the others were launched from the bowels of the HLV.

His eyes followed the HLV as it continued it hopeless descent, the entirety of its lower half engulfed by fire. A moment later, it erupted into a fireball just like the other three had. Unable to find the right words to say, he swung the mono-eye toward the ground, which was steadily growing larger. Finally finding the right words to say, he screamed out "Prepare for high altitude landing!" as he slammed a lever on the side of his panel.

Originally, he had scoffed at the thought of attaching the large packs onto the Zakus, that they were nothing more than spare weight to be dumped after they landed. For once, though, he was extremely happy for the better-safe-than-sorry method. He felt the hard jerk as the extra thrusters on the Zaku's back and legs came to life and slowed his descent by a good deal.

His eyes returned to the surface as he watched the bright flashes on the ground as those that had managed to survive landing on the surface began to struggle against the ground forces. "Open fire!"

"Open fire? They're out of range!" Petrowski called.

"Idiot! Who cares about range? Just fire, gravity'll take care of the rest!" Jayce screamed back as he unleashed several bursts from his 120mm autocannon. The others followed his example and the ground below them began to light up even more as their rounds found the occasional target. Of course, Jayce never took the time to consider whether he was actually firing on his own forces. Right now, all that mattered was helping the others reach the ground safely.

He watched as the other HLV's surged toward the surface, every now and then another one erupting just like his had.

"Adalin! Look out!"

Jayce look up just in time to see a HLV come crashing toward him, and only barely managed to hit one of his thrusters to propel himself out of the way of the immense ship. The shockwaves from it sent his suit sprawling to the side, his blood running cold from the closeness of being splattered across it like a bug on a windshield.

As soon as they were close enough to the surface to land safely without damaging the suits, the entire platoon cut off the excess thrusters, expelling them from the backs of the suit to fall the rest of the way down.

As Jayce surveyed the land, he quickly discovered they weren't far off from the danger as they had been in mid-air. There had to be hundreds, if not thousands of tanks, Type 61's they had called them in the briefs, along with other pieces of artillery, ant-air, and hundreds of infantry units. They had landed in the middle of an entire formation.

Releasing a long burst from his autocannon, Jayce charged forward, the others in close pursuit, their 120 mm's and atomic bazookas mimicking his. Fireballs and explosions lit up the night sky as Zaku battled tank at such a frighteningly close range. He watched as a Zaku stomped a Type 61 into the dirt, only to erupt as another one unloaded both 150mm cannons into its chest, only to see that one explode as another Zaku avenged his fallen brother with a 280mm bazooka round.

A tank rolled directly in front of him, it's turret aimed directly at his chest. With no time to react, Jayce simply lifted his foot and kicked it over, taking the time to turn around and fire a shot into its weak underside. An explosion rocked his right side and he turned just in time to see that another one had taken a pot shot at him and had blown off his shield. It didn't get a chance for a second shot as Dix placed several rounds into it, the turret propelling itself into the air as one of the rounds detonated its ammunition.

"Civic Company!" Captain Durst's voice came into his ear among the jumbled mess of screaming throughout the battlefield. "Form up by the burning HLV! We're going to regroup and assault through the north section!"

Jayce looked up and saw the HLV Durst had been speaking of no more than three hundred meters to the left of them. "Alright, you heard him! Form up! Move!"

They turned and continued through the mess of battle, Zakus and tanks erupting all about them. Jayce never once let off of the trigger, his autocannon screaming as it flung round after round towards the Federation weapons. When they reached the HLV, six other Zakus were waiting for them. "Is this everyone?" he asked as they found cover behind one of the sides from the tank fire.

"Afraid so." Naga replied. "I lost two of my boys just before we landed, shrapnel tore their suits to shreds. Looks like you didn't do much better."

"What do you mean?" Jayce asked as he swung the camera around. "What?! Where's Petrowski?"

Bradford took a step forward. "I'm sorry, Sir. He took a round just after we had landed. I thought you saw it."

"Shit!" Jayce screamed.

"No time to worry right now, we've still got Feddies running around." Durst called. "Now, the Colonel is trying to get the 11th to make a push to the north. He said that the Federation is starting to fall back slowly, but we've got to ensure that they don't get too far off and warn the others."

"Roger." was all Jayce could manage to say.

"Hey! Don't let it bother you, we've got a job to do." Durst said.

"Yes, Sir."

"Alright, 1st and 3rd Platoon, form up and follow me. 2nd Platoon will follow behind us. Let's go!" With that, Captain Durst launched his Zaku forward and around the HLV, followed closely by the rest of 1st and 3rd Platoon.

For a moment, Jayce didn't move. But, after taking a quick breath, he launched his forward and followed the captain around the transport. As soon as he rounded the side, he wished he hadn't.

Not even three steps around the corner, he watched as the Zaku to the left of the captain's, McMillan's, erupted from not one, but two Type 61's hitting it. Both Jayce and Naga turned to the two tanks and both disappeared in funeral pyres as the rounds smashed into them. Picking up speed, they made their way up a large dune and couldn't help but gape at the sight before them.

A hundred Type 61's, at least, were retreating from the battle. Infantry was struggling to keep up, but were nonetheless following the fleeing tanks.

"Let's move!" Captain Durst yelled and began to charge the fleeing Federation forces. Jayce and Naga were right behind him, their formations forgotten in the wonderment of the scene.

The carnage was almost instantaneous as 120mm and 280mm bullets and bazooka rounds flung themselves at the Feddies. Crashing through the center of the formation, Civic Company split in directions and simply went to work cutting through the lines as the Federation tried to escape the slaughter, very few firing back at first.

Jayce's Zaku shook violently once more as his left hand took a hit and disappeared in the rubble of a Type 61. Twisting toward the tank that had shot at him, he was surprised to find his ammo supply had run dry. Lacking the necessary means to reload, he simply flung the rifle at the tank, knocking its barrels enough to blow the rounds it fired inside of the chamber, causing the entire Type 61 to self combust into the sand. Pulling his heat hawk from his back, he satisfied himself with continuing the fight at extremely close range.

"Where's the rest of the battalion?" Naga called after a few moments.

"Dunno, they better get here soon, though."

"Think we can hold out long enough?"

"No idea." Jayce said as he stepped on several Feddies who had just hopped out of a burning Type 61. "I hope so."

"Hey, we play our cards right, we might just be able to get a medal or two outta this."

"Eh," Jayce muttered, barely avoiding a shot fired from a tank in front of him. "You can have mine if we do, I've got enough already." Sidestepping the tank again, he simply slammed his heat hawk through the center, splitting it completely in half.

"The calvary has arrived!" Thompson called out joyfully.

Jayce looked up and, sure enough, more Zakus were joining the fray. Seeing that their time had come, most of the Type 61's tried once more to flee, only to find themselves completely encircled. Like a dog backed into a corner though, they weren't planning on going silently into the night.

"Lt. Adalin." Staff Sgt. Bradford called.

"What is it?"

"Captain Durst is ordering us to pull back and let the others have a go, most of them have just landed."

"Understood, I'll—

His words were cut short as he watched Bradford's Zaku shudder, shrapnel spraying from his chest as his back erupted. As his suit tumbled to the ground, Jayce immediately spotted the injured Type 61 that he had passed not even a minute ago, thinking it was dead. Without giving it a chance to reload, he launched his Zaku and stomped down hard on it, smashing it into the sand until it was practically flattened.

"God-fing-dammit!" he screamed, still stomping on the spot where the tank had once been, not even in the slightest affected by the thought that all he was doing now was turning it into a powder.

"Jayce! It's dead." a voice told him. He didn't agree, his mind kept telling him to continue crushing the tank, that it was still alive somehow.

"Jayce!" Naga said again, this time grabbing hold of Jayce's mobile suit and pulling him away from the tank. "Come on, didn't you hear the Captain? We're pulling back. Archer and Booker Company can take care of the rest.

"Yeah, yeah I heard." Jayce muttered, his face pale white under his helmet. His eyes didn't leave from Bradford's fallen Zaku. "Bloody hell."

Whether he was referring to the old British saying, or possibly making the most simplistic description of the battle, both fit perfectly well as the two watched the battle slowly come to a close just as the sun was beginning to rise on the horizon.

* * *

Well, I hope you enjoyed the first major battle of the story so far. Expect plenty more action, along with good-humored fun and maybe a little bit of romance if I feel like it. Expect a little bit more character development in the next few chapters for some of the characters, although I wouldn't advise getting attached to too many people (foreshadowing possibly? or maybe just a bluff?). Don't worry though, there'll be plenty of action in the mix too, so please don't get too bummed out. 


	4. Ch 3, A Seperate Resolve

**Chapter 3 - A Seperate Resolve**

**March 1, 0079**

**60 Km west of Tabriz, Iran**

1st Lieutenant Jayce Adalin could only stare at the burnt hull of the Zaku I that had now become Staff Sergeant Michael Bradford's grave. It had landed partially on its side, allowing him a full view of the shredded chest plate that covered the cockpit.

As it had turned out, they had landed exactly inside their drop zone, unlike what they had believed the night before. The only problem had been that one of the higher ups had failed to notice the battalion of Federation armor that had been stationed in the area for training against such an attack. They had also failed to realize that with a clear night sky, and no Minovsky coverage, that they would be spotted before they even cleared the atmosphere. It was almost ridiculous how a little bit homework could have saved so many lives.

"Come on, Adalin, it's something we've gotta do." 2nd Lieutenant Naga Mitsuharu said, placing a hand on his comrade's shoulder.

"Yeah, you're right." Jayce replied, his head toward the ground. Taking a deep breath, he slowly made his way to the Zaku.

He stood in front of the chest for several minutes, peering through the small holes that littered the plate. Resisting every urge to stop, he brought his hand to the small lever that would open the cockpit and pulled it.

"Oh, dear God!" he screamed as he looked inside. Taking several steps back, he fell flat on his rear after tripping over a shard of metal.

"Adalin, are you alright?" Naga called as he ran back over toward the wide eyed Jayce. Turning his head to follow Jayce's eyes, he felt the blood drain from his face as he simply muttered, "Oh."

For a minute straight, the two simply stared at the horrifying innards of the Zaku I, resembling what it would possibly look like if someone ripped open the chest of a person. Neither could find the strength to pull their eyes away, or blink for that matter.

Finally, after what seemed an eternity, Naga spoke up in a near whisper. "We'll...we'll get some of the enlisted to take him out...er, what's left of him anyways."

Jayce didn't reply, his eyes still locked on the partial remains of the upper half of Bradford's head, his eyes staring back at him locked in a look of horror.

"Adalin, come on." Naga muttered, grabbing hold of Jayce's collar and pulling him to his feet. "We can get someone else to do it." he repeated.

"No." Jayce replied suddenly, the look of horror still in his eyes. "I'll take care of it."

---

Across the wreckage of the battlefield, Sgt. Leon Thompson sat atop the palm of a fallen Zaku II's hand. Sitting next to him, Cpl. Megan Dix preoccupied herself with the bottle of water she had been given by the supply officer a few hours ago. They had been sitting in silence since the end of the battle, almost four hours ago.

"Do you think they'll be sending us out anytime soon?" Leon asked, finally breaking the silence.

"There's really no telling." Megan replied flatly. Her eyes wandered out toward the large blur off in the distance.

The 12th Battalion had left an hour ago, having received orders to proceed north to pursue a small Federation formation that had been seen trying regroup with forces fleeing from Odessa. While nobody was in the mood to want to head out so soon, most of the remaining members of Civic Company wasn't too thrilled about having to stay behind in the graveyard of their fallen comrades.

"I mean, where could they send us? There's way too many possibilities to try and guess." Leon went on. "I mean, we could follow the 12th to the north, or the 54th to the east, they can't just make us sit around and wait all day, can they?"

"I don't know." Megan replied, a little bit of agitation in her voice.

"I'm just saying—

"Will you just shut up already?!" Megan snapped as she turned toward him. "I don't know where we're going, and I don't know when, so would you put it to rest then?"

Leon's eyes widened in surprise at this outburst. He stared at her for a moment, speechless, then noticed the small tears forming in the corners of her eyes. "I'm sorry." he muttered, leaning over and wrapping an arm over her shoulder. He pulled her close to him and let her rest her head on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, I just forgot...that's all. I'm sorry."

"It's...it's okay." she said, holding back the flood of tears she could feel building up.

"Hey." a voice behind them said quietly, causing the two to jump and push away from one another as they looked toward the voice.

Jayce stood beside the thumb of the Zaku, his hands in the air in reassurance. "I'm sorry." he said in the same quiet tone. "I just wanted to let you two know that we finished with Bradford's grave if you'd like to pay your respects. Do it soon though, if you're going to. I think they're planning on sending us south within the hour."

And with that, he turned and left the two younger soldiers, neither one failing to notice the paleness of his face nor the dried blood crusted on his hands and sleeves.

----

The march was silent save for the sound of the mobile suits' gears as they continued their movements south toward the city of Bakhtaran.

Jayce thought to himself as he looked out toward the mountain range to their left and the shore of a large lake to their right. Popping his neck lightly, his eyes wandered toward Captain Durst's Zaku II almost thirty meters in front of his. 

When they had originally met after landing, everyone in Durst's platoon had landed safely, and even when they had engaged the Federation forces they had only lost McMillan. Then, what had happened to them when they had crashed through the center of those retreating tanks? He zoomed in on the rest of 1st Platoon. Hardly a single scratch on any of them. How had they managed that?

Zooming out, he lifted the left arm of his Zaku. The mechanics had worked nonstop to replace it with Bradford's Zaku I's left arm. It seemed to fit quite well considering it wasn't the same model. They hadn't had a chance to replace his shield, it didn't matter too much though, he'd already said his goodbyes to the shield that had stayed with him since his graduation from the Academy.

He smiled, recalling that just before they had left, he had etched the names of every member of Civic Company on it, a memorial of sorts for them.

His mind snapped back to his previous train of thought and he looked back at what remained of 2nd Platoon. Leon's Zaku II shifted slowly as its damaged leg shuffled about the front armor revealing the inner skeleton of machinery that it was designed to protect. The mechanics hadn't had any time to repair it at all. Megan's Zaku II was only slightly better off, its leg skirts blown off and its right arm was littered with shrapnel that protruded from it like spikes. They had never found Petrowski's mobile suit, it would be lost forever in the jumbled mess that marked where they had landed, otherwise they would have used whatever was left of it to repair both Thompson and Dix's Zaku's.

His eyes moved back toward Captain Durst. Had he even really participated in the battle? What kind of leader is that? _The kind that knows how to obey orders, and save his skin. The kind of officer that Friedrich would never choose,_ he thought. What was Friedrich getting at, putting him under this man's authority? _I guess we'll just have to wait and see,_ he told himself, letting out a loud sigh.

"This is good enough." Captain Durst called, finally breaking the almost three hour long silence that had ensued. "The Colonel is saying that we should make camp and prepare for capturing the city in the morning, since everyone is exhausted."

Jayce looked down at the little GPS screen to his right. He hadn't realized it, but they had marched several hundred kilometers that day. The coordinates for Bakhtaran said that the city was still another thirty kilometers away, just enough to ensure that they wouldn't be seen.

"We'll camp in the mountains tonight for cover." Durst continued, pointing over towards one of the ridges to their left. "Booker Company will be doing some scouting, so I'm going to meet with Colonel Neubach tonight. Lt. Adalin, you'll be in charge of Civic Company in my absence."

"Understood." Jayce muttered dryly. "Alright, 1st Platoon, you'll scout the area around the ridge, make sure nobody's going to come shoot us in the ass while we're trying to cook some food or something, alright?"

"Roger." Cpl. Zhukov replied unenthusiastically, making Jayce sigh as he thought of how Durst probably never made them do anything. He watched as the three mobile suits slowly moved forward and disappeared around the side of the mountain, Captain Durst staying behind just long enough to watch them leave.

"Go easy on them, they're my boys." Durst said with a laugh as he put one of his Zaku II's hand on Jayce's shoulder, creating a private channel between the two.

"I'll treat them like I would my own platoon, _Sir_." Jayce replied through grit teeth, trying hard not to get on to Durst for telling him to basically not make them do any work.

"Good, good. Well, I must be off, the Colonel'll get on my ass if I'm late getting back." Durst said before taking his hand off of Jayce's mobile suit and making his way past 3rd Platoon to find where the mobile HQ had been set up.

"Area clear." Zhukov called as he and the others returned.

"Good." Jayce muttered. "Alright, let's head up there and make camp. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm starving.

----

"Dear lord, Madison, who taught you to cook like this?" Naga said as he tried to stir the tin full of stew in his hand unsuccessfully.

"My mother, thank you very much, Sir." Cpl. Jerry Madison replied curtly. He made his way down the line, stopping to fill Jayce's meal tin before continuing down the line to the others.

He looked down at the brew, an odd mix of meat and veggies that he had no idea where Jerry had procured. Throwing a look at Naga, who was shaking his head, he cautiously took a bite of the stew. Struggling to swallow it, he shot a glance over toward the others who were following his example, smiling as they too struggled to consume the food.

"Well, I think I'm full for tonight." Naga said before dumping the remaining contents of his stew. "Thanks, Madison, for...whatever that was."

"Say what you will about it, Sir, I like it." Sgt. Roger Salim said before taking a bite out of his stew "I don't think it's that bad."

"Thanks, Roger." Jerry said, glad there was someone who was willing to defend his cooking, however poor it might be."

"Of course," Roger replied. "If anything else, it'll make a good alternative if we have to bludgeon the Feddies to death!"

The pilots all roared with laugher at this comment, Jerry's face burning light red in the small firelight.

"Madison," Adalin said amidst the laughter, "It'll do you good to recall your military bearing and address your superiors by their last names."

"Aw, lighten up, Lieutenant." Naga called. "The Captain's not here, you don't have any ass to kiss tonight. Let's let the boys relax for tonight. They've had a long day."

Jayce let out a sigh. "Fine. Just for tonight though, when the Captain gets back, full military bearing. Understand?"

"Yes, Sir!" the entire company responded, Naga even throwing in a small salute. They roared with laughter once more.

"Hey, Megan, whatcha reading?" Leon called to Megan as she sat aside from the others with her nose neatly tucked into a book.

"Catcher in the Rye." she replied, lifting the book up to show him the cover.

"Ah, I've read that once, a long time ago." Jayce said, struggling once more to swallow the stew. "I thought it was good back then."

"And you think differently now?" Megan asked, putting the book down.

"Not really." Jayce replied, his eyes gazing up towards the stars, back home. "It's just that, since then, I've come to see that it wasn't really how the world was. Sure, back then, I bet it made a lot of sense. But now, now the world is just too different than the one he describes."

"You really think so, Jayce?" Naga asked.

"A little bit." Jayce replied. "Then again, I didn't exactly grow up the same way the protagonist did."

"Oh really?" Naga said, leaning over toward Jayce in interest. "Care to tell us how you grew up then?"

"Not particularly." Jayce replied, taking another spoonful of the stew to say he was done speaking.

"Alright, well then, I guess I'll start then." Naga said, hopping to his feet. Spreading his arms wide to usher the others closer toward him and the fire, he spoke as though he were telling some great story. "For those of you who don't know me, I'm 2nd Lt. Naga Mitsuharu, but tonight, you can call me asshole." he paused to allow laughter to sift through the pilots. "I was born in Zum City, most of you know where that is, right? Well, if you don't, it's that nice big one with the palace and those guys who run our lovely Side. My family grew up in the Deikun District. For those of you who don't know what that is, that's the middle district, about two kilometers away from the rich people's houses. I went to the Academy after high school, graduating in the top half, and now I'm here on Earth for the first time. I also like long walks on the beach and moonlit dinners if anyone's interested."

The entire group burst into laughter once more. Looking over towards Jayce expectantly, they were disappointed when he shook his head and motioned for someone else to go.

It was Leon who stood up next. "Hey, everybody, I'm Leon Thompson, uh, Sergeant Leon Thompson that is. I'm from the New Kiev colony, which is about six colonies to the left of Zum City. Dad was stationed aboard a Chivvay class, Mom worked for Zeonic Company 'til she passed back in '74. Um, I went to the University of New Kiev for about a year until I dropped out and enlisted. Shoot, I'm just here to kick some Feddie ass."

Everyone smiled and turned once more toward Jayce, who shook his head again and said "I'm not much for talking about myself. Somebody else?"

Megan stood up. "Corporal Megan Dix, I was born in Manchester, but I moved up to London Colony about a week after they let me out of the hospital. I graduated from the University of London with a major in Western Cultures, but I enlisted right after and made a good enough score for them to let me be a pilot. I'm just trying to get some experience before I try to become an officer myself."

"You didn't try ROTC in college?" Leon exclaimed. "What the hell? At least I've got a good reason for being enlisted."

Everyone roared with laughter again. Jayce merely shook his head.

"I told you, I just want some experience before I try to become one." Megan began to defend herself.

"Alright, alright." Naga interrupted, stepping in. "Let's stop this before you two start getting into a slapping fight, no offense, Meg."

"No need to apologize, Leon already knows I can kick his ass anytime." Meg replied, throwing a glance at Leon.

The group laughed again before another stood up to introduce himself to the group. While Roger was talking, Naga returned to his seat next to Jayce.

"So, what's up, man? Embarrassed about your home or something?" he asked Jayce.

"I'm just not big on opening up to people." Jayce replied, shaking his head again.

"Well, shit, we're not asking you to give us your life story." Naga muttered, taking a sip from his canteen. "Why don't you give them a war story from Loum or British?"

"I really don't like talking about that." Jayce replied a bit more defiantly.

"Aw, come on! Just a small story, not the whole thing. Like, I heard you downed yourself a Magellan back at Loum, bet that was amazing!" Naga pressed.

"Loum was nothing like you think it might be. None of the stories in the paper came anywhere close to what it was like." Jayce replied forcefully.

"Well, what was it like?" Leon asked, leaning over toward the two officers.

Jayce sighed. As he opened his mouth to talk, he noticed the entire group had grown silent to listen, everyone looking at him in curiosity. Sighing again, he spoke in a near whisper. "Imagine, if you will, a chaotic mess of life and death everywhere you look. Explosions everywhere distort your mind, while the thought of your brothers dying all around you fill you completely with despair. Every image becomes meaningless, the only thought that begins to fill your mind is the thought of killing just one more ship, just one more person, just one more life, so that you may continue to live. And...once the fighting's all over and you are able to see the damage that's been done, all those thoughts and emotions that had disappeared during the fighting all rushes back into you at once, overwhelming ever sense and breaking your spirit."

Silence ensued the camp for a moment until Naga let out a whistle and said very simply, "Well, that's deep, Jayce."

"Yeah." Jayce replied dryly, leaning back against the rock he had propped up as a seat. After a few minutes, the others once more broke into chatter and Jayce was left sitting next to Naga and Leon who began to talk about a soccer game they had watched earlier in the year.

----

"I just don't see why you had to press the Lieutenant like that, you could tell it wasn't something he liked to talk about." Megan said to Leon as she leaned against a rock, the firelight from the camp in the distance just barely bright enough to draw out her outline in the darkness.

"Aw, come on now, Meg. We're were just having a fun conversation two seconds ago and you bring that up?" Leon asked as he lifted his hands from her hips.

"I just think it wasn't right to do." she replied, her hands lightly touching his arms, her fingernails digging lightly into his skin.

"Naga was bugging him too, I don't see you running over to tell him he shouldn't have done it." he replied in a near whisper, his face inches from her's.

"Naga can take of himself. You on the other hand..."

"Oh ho ho! Are you saying I need a baby sitter?" he asked playfully, leaning back slightly.

"Damn straight." Megan replied, grabbing the back of his head and pulling him close enough to kiss his lips.

"So, is it really that big of a deal that you can piss longer than me?" the voice of Jayce asked as two people rounded the corner where Leon and Megan were.

"As my superior officer you should be ashamed you can't...whoa!" Naga replied as he caught sight of the two as they pushed away from one another. "What do we have here?" he asked with a laugh.

"Sir!" Megan said suddenly, adjusting her shirt slightly. "There was nothing going on, Sir!"

"Relax, relax." Jayce said, lifting his hand defensively. "We're taking it easy tonight, remember? Now, what was going on here?"

Megan and Leon both shifted nervously while Naga merely stared at Jayce.

"You serious?" he asked.

"Yeah." Jayce replied, looking over toward Naga. "I didn't see what happened, you did. So, tell me, what happened?"

Naga looked at the other two for a moment before letting a grin cross his face. "I didn't see anything at all."

Leon and Megan both sighed in relief. Turning to leave, Leon stopped for a moment before looking back toward his superior officers. "What were you two doing out here anyways?" he asked.

"Um, nothing, drop it." Jayce said quickly. He watched as Leon and Megan made their way towards the campfire before turning back to Naga. "So, where were we?" he asked with a laugh.

----

"Here it is, just like I told you." Naga called as he pulled the small metallic flask from the innards of his mobile suit. Taking a quick sip, he tossed it down to Jayce who helped himself to it while Naga climbed down from the hunched over Zaku II.

Coughing loudly, Jayce smiled as he handed the flask back to Naga. "That's some good stuff." he managed to say after the coughs died down.

"Not really." Naga replied as he brought the flask to his lips. "It's actually just some real cheap vodka I managed to find just before the launch. Don't tell me you're a light weight, Jayce."

Jayce merely smirked. "I'm half German, I wouldn't make it if I couldn't drink."

"Oh ho! So the Lieutenant decides to open up a little bit once he gets a little tipsy, huh?" Naga laughed.

"Shut up." Jayce replied, punching Naga's arm playfully.

"So, for a half-German, you're name's not really very German sounding." Naga muttered before passing the flask back. "It sounds a bit more Lunarian."

"Does it now?" Jayce asked dryly, taking another long swig from the flask. "My middle name's Dietrich, that 'German sounding' enough?"

Naga only laughed and shook his head. "I swear, you've got more mystery about you than Dix does."

"Yeah." Jayce muttered. "I don't understand that girl."

"Join the club."

"I mean, one minute she and Leon are butting heads, the next minute we catch them mid-coitus."

Naga looked over towards Jayce in surprise. "So you really did see what happened back there?"

"I'm not stupid." Jayce muttered before taking another large swig and finishing off the remnants of the flask. "It may have been dark, but I know what sex looks like."

Naga merely laughed, shaking his head. "I was starting to get a little worried about you, man."

Jayce's right eyebrow raised slightly as he turned to his friend. "Were you now?"

"Hey, don't get offended, I mean, it's just I never saw you try and flirt with any of the girls back at Equitor Base, that's all."

"I think I've grown out of the phase of just hopelessly flirting with every girl I lay eyes on, unlike some people."

"Ouch, harsh. Well, old habits die hard, it was great at the Academy though, for me at least."

"What are you suggesting?"

"All I'm saying is that you just don't seem like the ladies' man, that's all."

"I'll have you know that I was nicknamed the Man-Whore my senior year at the Academy."

"Wow, who called you that."

Jayce just smiled, shaking his head. "The entire Freshman and Sophomore classes."

"I think I'm gonna call bullshit on that, Jayce."

"Say what you will."

There was a slight pause as the two sat in silence, until Naga decided he wasn't quite don't talking yet.

"You got a girlfriend back home?" he asked suddenly.

"Had one, just before the war." Jayce muttered. "Just before I shipped out she called to tell me she had found someone else, which is great to tell someone who's about to go off and fight and possibly never come back."

"Damn Jody." Naga muttered, his eyes gazing up towards the stars above them. "Whatever happened to women just screwing your brains out before you left, then sending you a dear john letter?"

"Those days are gone." Jayce muttered, his eyes gazing toward the giant full moon. "Who knows, maybe you and me can find someone down here, ya know?"

"Not me." Naga said, pulling out his dog tags and showing Jayce the small ring taped to it. "I'm already taken."

"Really?" Jayce asked, leaning in to have a look at it.

"Yep, her name's Gayle. Most beautiful girl in the world. Cooks the best sirloin in all of Side 3. Never been to any of the other Sides, so I can't honestly compare it..." Naga replied, putting the dog tags away. "Got any family?"

"Parents back up at the Sides. Mom's a journalist and Dad works for Zimmad Company. Haven't talked to them in awhile though, Dad's been busy working on some new prototype mobile suit, it's real hush-hush, you know?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Any siblings?"

"Had an older brother, but he died during the One Week War."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's alright. He was a good soldier, made us all proud."

"Really?"

"Yeah, Richard was the reason I went to the Academy, he was the best guy you'd ever meet. Helped me out a lot, showed me the ropes and everything."

"Was he a pilot too?"

"No, he wanted to command his own ship. He was just a few years off from getting one too."

"That sucks."

"Yeah, I've got a little sister too. Fortunately, she's safe on Luna."

"That's good. Why Luna?"

"Some boarding school, I forget what it's called. She just turned seventeen."

"Ah, still jailbait, eh?" Naga asked, a long grin on his face.

"I wouldn't know." Jayce said amidst laughing. "What do you care? You've got a ball and chain back home."

"Hey, I'm just kidding." Naga replied throwing his hands in the air. "Besides, I never said we were married, she's just my fiancé. We're gonna get married just as soon as this war's over."

"You're real confident about this, huh?" Jayce asked, throwing a glance toward his friend.

"Hell yeah." Naga replied, letting out a loud laugh. "We're kicking those Feddies' asses so hard they'll be surrendering within the month."

"You think so?" Jayce asked.

"Eh, I'm an optimist, so I'll always think we're gonna win this war, no matter how bad it might get."

"I hope you're right, for our sakes at least." Jayce muttered, casting one last glance at the moon before finally allowing the pressures of sleep to overcome him.

March 2, 0079

Bakhtaran, Iran

"Shit!" Jayce screamed as he narrowly avoided another 150mm volley from the two Type 61 tanks that were hidden within the bowels of a large building. "Where the hell did they all come from?"

The building exploded as Dix fired a round from her bazooka into it, crushing the two helpless tanks in the rubble.

"There's no fing cover anywhere!" Naga yelled, hunching low behind a house to avoid several 150mm rounds directed towards him.

"Captain Durst, what should we do?" Jayce called, the roar of his autocannon overpowering his voice slightly.

"There shouldn't be any here!" Durst screamed back. "Our reports said they were all retreating toward Iraq, there shouldn't be any still here!"

"Well, looks like those reports were fing wrong, Sir!" Jayce yelled through gritted teeth as a round slammed into his shoulder, swinging his Zaku to the left and allowing his autocannon to focus on the rogue Type 61 he had missed.

"1st Platoon! Fall back on me, we'll cut through the mountains and surround them!" Durst called.

"Fall back?!" Jayce screamed, watching a tank explode from Leon's 120mm Autocannon. "You're not even in the city and you're telling 1st Platoon to leave us behind so you can go around? Are you fing insane?!"

"Watch your mouth, Lieutenant. I know what I'm doing." Durst replied.

Jayce watched in horror as the three mobile suits just to his left retreated, leaving his flank completely exposed to the Type 61's that had just been battering 1st Platoon. "Son of a bitch!" he screamed as several opened up on him at once.

"That asshole's gonna get us killed!" Naga called, explosions littering his voice.

"You're telling me! There's no way he's gonna be able to climb the mountain and make it back in time." Jayce replied, quickly changing his magazine before opening fire on the enemy tanks.

"So, what do we do?" Leon asked.

Jayce quickly scanned the battlefield. They were stuck in several kilometers of the residential area of the city. Any real cover from buildings would be completely across the city near the small airport the city housed.

"We'll work in fire teams! One draws out the tanks and the other blows it to dust! Switch up after each kill, we're gonna push to the other side of the city!" he yelled.

"Roger that!" Naga called back.

"Leon, go! We'll cover you." Jayce called.

With that, Leon's mobile suit launched itself over the house it was hiding behind and began charging a short ways. As a tank popped out to fire, Jayce and Megan would take turns firing. Once Leon found workable cover, it was Megan's turn. Popping up, a Type 61 almost nailed her, but was quickly destroyed by a burst from Leon. Explosions in the distance told Jayce that the strategy was working. Slowly, they made their way toward the commercial area, able to find better cover from the several story tall buildings.

Spotting the airport, Jayce could see several large groups of tanks being prepped to enter the fray. "Dix, Naga, anyone with bazooka rounds, open up on the Type 61's at the airport!" he yelled.

The airport was rocked severally as bazooka round after bazooka round hit the airfield and hangars, turning the entire field into giant fireballs. What few tanks that had managed to survive quickly turned tail and fled, kicking up dust as they tried to escape the city.

"Great job everybody!" Jayce yelled as he watched the dust begin to settle. "Great teamwork, that's how you do it!"

----

"Good job everyone. I couldn't have done a better job myself." Durst said as he walked toward the other pilots. It had taken 1st Platoon nearly half an hour to scale back down the side of the mountain, during which Jayce and the others had situated their mobile suits neatly on the runway of the airport.

Jayce thought to himself. _"You can't do anything but survive, can you?"_ With a forced smile, he saluted Captain Durst and said simply "All in a day's work, Sir!" 

As the Captain returned the salute, another thought came across Jayce's mind. _"We'll see how long that lasts you, though."_

* * *

Wow, this chapter really taught me a good geography lesson. So, uh, word of advice, if you pick a place and describe it one way, it's probably a good idea to do your homework. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed my small bit of humor every now and then, and uh, please read and review, I'd really like to know what you're thinking about this so far...Expect the next chapter by the end of this week, surprises to come! 


	5. Ch 4, The Way We Were

**Chapter 4 - The Way We Were**

**March 4, 0079  
****Mandali, Iraqi-Iran Border**

"You don't know me, even though you know who I am...I may know you but I just don't understand...Sometimes...It's alright..." Jayce's lips followed the soft voice as he listened to the song playing inside the cockpit of his Zaku II.

"You can't see me, behind this broken smile...And when I see you, I haven't seen you in awhile...Though I try...Sometimes..." His eyes gazed lazily at the mountain range before him, then towards the others who were still asleep around the now dead campfire. The sun was just beginning to rise, no doubt they would be leaving within the hour.

"They don't know us, even though they say that we belong...It's so easy for them, to say we should be strong...But I know...So what?" His silent mouthing of the lyrics turned vocal as the chorus started. "We're lost and we're broken, and every wish and every kiss is bleeding into lies. Are you surprised?...We're tossed and unspoken, and every laugh is drowned by another tear we cry. Is this goodbye? Welcome to the outside."

"Sounds like a sad song." a voice said, startling Jayce enough to literally jump out of his seat.

Opening his eyes, he found Naga resting on the upward knee of the kneeling Zaku. Taking a step out of the cockpit, he leaned over toward his friend, a hand on the hatch to keep balance. "I didn't see you there." he said.

Naga nodded, his eyes locked on the sunrise. "Didn't want to bother you."

"Good job." Jayce replied dryly before leaning back into the cockpit and pausing the song.

"Who was that singing?" Naga asked, his gaze now on Jayce.

"My sis." Jayce replied, hopping onto the knee where Naga was resting.

"Good voice."

"Yeah, she's big on music and stuff, she's already got a scholarship to some really big music school back home on Von..." he stopped mid-sentence, his eyes wide.

"Von Braun, eh?" Naga muttered. "That'd explain the introversion, huh?."

"I was hoping it could be something swept under the rug." Jayce replied, sitting down next to Naga.

"Don't want the others to know you're Lunarian and not Zeon?"

"Yeah." Jayce said softly. "I don't want them to think I'm just some hired merc like the Foreign Legion guys."

Naga nodded. "Yeah, those boys do get some hell every now and then. I don't think the guys'll care all that much, I mean, you're a great leader and everything, better than Durst anyways."

Jayce merely pursed his lips tightly, making them into a thin line. "He's useless."

"Yep." Naga replied, rising to his feet. "Guess we'll just have to wait until he's promoted to get rid of him."

"Or KIA."

Naga stared at Jayce unblinkingly for several minutes, lost for words. "You can get in some serious shit for saying stuff like that, man."

Jayce didn't look at his friend. "It's not a threat, but if he keeps this up, the only way we'll ever come home is in a body bag. And I can't let that happen, not to any one of us."

Naga followed where Jayce was looking at, stopping when he realized it was on Cpl. Megan Dix's tent, which Sgt. Leon Thompson was quietly sneaking out of.

"This war is going to destroy a lot of peoples lives, it's already done a good job of that in space. I...I can't just sit by and watch kids like those two get hurt."

Naga merely nodded in agreement.

"We're gonna need people like them when this war's over." Jayce continued, his eyes following Leon as he crawled back into his sleeping bag. "They're the kind of people that are gonna help us rebuild once the killing is all done and over with."

"And what about you and me?"

Jayce merely shook his head. "You're one of those people too."

"And you?"

Jayce looked back over toward Naga, an emotionless expression across his face. "I'm only here to pay a debt that was put upon me. Once that is done, there shall be no other use for me."

Naga was taken aback by this comment. His eyes wide, he couldn't help but ask, "So you don't care if you survive this war?"

Jayce sadly shook his head. "My place is only on the battlefield, there's no other home for me other than inside that cockpit." he threw a thumb over his shoulder toward the Zaku.

Shaking his head, Naga looked over toward Jayce one last time before saying, "Dude, we've seriously got to get you laid, and fast!"

The two broke into laughter at this. Naga never let his eyes off of Jayce. _"I'd follow this man to Hell and back again."_

----

"Hey, Lieutenant, we're about to move out, what're you doing?" Leon called from his Zaku II as the mobile suits began to hum to life.

"Just finishing a letter to a friend." Jayce replied, looking up from the piece of paper he had been writing on. "Go ahead and finish your preps, I did mine earlier."

"Roger." Leon replied before swinging the mono-eye camera toward Megan's Zaku II, zooming in to watch her as she climbed into her cockpit. "Sleep well?" he asked as he watched the hatch close.

"Better than you did." Megan replied with a small snicker.

"Well, if somebody didn't thrash in their sleep, I probably would have gotten to sleep a helluva lot quicker." Leon shot back, a wide grin on his face.

"You know, Leon, private channels were created for a reason." Jayce called, causing Leon's grin to disappear in the blink of an eye. "Or if that's too difficult you could at least try to flirt in a less obvious manner..."

Leon blushed heavily and struggled for a moment to change the subject when he suddenly asked, "So, who's your friend that you're writing to?"

"Just an old buddy of mine from the Academy. He's in the Space Attack Force. From what he's been telling me, they've been keeping him busy." Jayce replied, consenting to the subject change on behalf of his friend.

"Almost makes you wish you'd stayed in space, huh, Sir?" Leon asked, the grin slowly returning to his face.

"Not even in the slightest, now hurry up before we leave your ass behind." Jayce called.

Looking up, Leon realized that the others were already slowly climbing down the side of the mountain, leaving his Zaku II kneeling at the foot of their camp all by his lonesome. "Coming, Sir! Hey, wait up!"

**March 4, 0079  
****20 Km West of Baghdad, Iraq**

"Glad you could make it." Lt. Colonel Friedrich Neubach said dryly as he watched Civic Company join the ranks of the 11th Mobile Assault Battalion.

"It was a lot harder to circle around the city than we anticipated it, Sir." Captain Durst replied as he maneuvered his Zaku II toward the front of the formation.

"I'm not asking for excuses, Captain." Friedrich replied in an unusually cold tone that made Jayce grin as he thought of the Captain shivering in fright inside of his mobile suit. "Now that you've formed up, here are your orders. Archer Company will provide artillery coverage while Booker and Civic Company will assault the airfield. Dagger and Eclipse Company will encircle it from the north and south respectively. Frat Company will push into the city from the south and assault the field from the east. Our reports indicate that the Federations are only holed up in the airfield, so once it has fallen, the city is ours. You have your orders, dismissed!"

----

"Jayce." Naga called as their mobile suits stood in a neat line awaiting the order to begin the assault. "I've got a bad feeling about this."

"What happened to that undying optimism you were talking about the other day?" Jayce asked, zooming in the mono-eye camera of the Zaku II to it's maximum capability, trying to get a better look at the airport in the distance.

"Man, optimism can only take you so far, but a feeling like this...That's just something I can't get past me."

Jayce sighed, giving up on trying to see the airfield. From the distance he was at, all he could make out was the slightest traces of the giant launcher for sending ships into space. It was odd that they had one, it wasn't like it was a constant stop for Spacenoids, but for all intents and purposes it was exactly the reason why they were targeting the city at all. "So what does your feeling say?"

"Say? It doesn't 'say' anything. I'm just starting to think that this isn't going to end well, that's all."

"Yeah? Well, tell you what, I'll bet you your feeling is wrong."

"Jayce, this really isn't funny."

"Just relax, Naga, everything'll be alright."

"Alright, Jayce, I trust you. It's just, the Captain and all..."

"Just stick close, he'll fall out like before. And if he doesn't, I'll take care of everyone. We'll be fine."

"I know, Jayce. I told you, I trust you."

"Good, now hurry up, we're about to head out." Jayce said before turning to look once more at the horizon towards the city. He didn't notice that Captain Durst's mobile suit was staring directly at his, nor that he had heard the entirety of the conversation.

**March 4, 0079  
****Baghdad Interspacial Airport**

"Archer Company, extend your firing 500 meters!" Jayce screamed as he barely dodged the bazooka rounds that were being lobbed over his shoulder.

"Roger that, Lieutenant." came the reply.

Looking up from the deep riverbed Civic Company was using as a trench, Jayce couldn't help but smile as he watched several dug-in Type 61's burst into flames. He had to duck back down quickly as several missile turrets opened up on his exposed head, feeling the shockwaves as they smashed into the wall behind him.

"Captain!" he yelled as dirt was flung over the side of the riverbed from several Type-61's cannons opening fire on them. "We've got to move, we can't stay here!"

"You're right!" Durst screamed back, ducking his Zaku II as an explosion ripped just above his head. "Give me a sec!"

"A sec?!" Jayce screamed back before throwing his 120mm Autocannon over his head and letting out a long burst toward where he assumed the fire was coming from. "If we wait a 'sec' they'll be right on f-ing top of us!"

"Booker Company, what's your location?" Durst asked, ignoring Jayce's response.

"About a kilometer west of you, we're pinned down." came the response from Booker Company's CO, Captain Manning.

"Alright, well, we're gonna need covering fire. Civic Company, follow me!" Durst said before hitting the thrusters on his backpack, propelling him high into the air.

Jayce merely gaped as he watched the Captain.

"Is he serious?" Naga asked.

"Looks like it, come on!" Jayce screamed before shoving on the floor pedals that activated his own thrusters.

The G-Force from the sudden propulsion shoved him into the back of his seat. Ignoring it, Jayce looked down and opened fire on several entrenched Type 61's that were trying to point their turrets high enough to fire on him. Landing on top of one, he barely acknowledged the hard crunch from crushing it before letting out a long burst on the others surrounding him and charging behind the Captain.

As the others caught up with him, he watched in awe as the Captain swept aside several tanks with a quick burst from his autocannon.

"Who the hell is that, and what did he do with Captain Durst?" Naga asked in a near whisper as he crouched behind a small hangar for cover.

"I don't know, but I think I like it..." Jayce merely replied.

"1st Platoon, on me! 2nd and 3rd, try to keep up!" Durst yelled as he changed his magazine.

"2nd Platoon, follow me!" Jayce yelled as he rounded a corner, Leon and Megan hot on his heels.

A Type-61 rolling out in front of him, he watched as tracers from his right laced through it, six rounds from Leon's autocannon. Coming around the building, he spotted two more tanks rolling towards them, only to watch it disappear under fire from Leon and Megan.

"Civic Company, on the airfield! Let's take it before Booker Company even gets here!" Durst screamed.

"Aye, Sir!" Jayce yelled back, charging toward the airfield where he saw Durst and the others firing wildly at several companies of tanks. "Let's go!" he hollered as he unleashed the last thirty rounds from his magazine at the tanks that laid between him and the airfield.

"Right behind you, Jayce!" Naga called, his autocannon screaming towards the left of Jayce at several Type-61's he had missed.

They charged until they reached Captain Durst and 1st Platoon who were taking cover behind a large hangar.

"Adalin, take your platoon around the left side. Mitsuharu, provide covering fire for him. We'll take the right side!" Durst called.

"Roger that!" Jayce yelled, launching his Zaku around the corner once more.

He stopped when he saw what was waiting for him around the left side.

"_That'll teach the little brat to badmouth me." _Durst thought as he smirked, listening as the Big Tray land battleship opened fire on Jayce and the others.

"Take out those cannons!" Jayce screamed as he fired a long burst towards the bridge of the Big Tray, strafing to the side to try to pass around it. Explosions rocked everywhere around him as it opened fire on him, knocking his aim off and causing his rounds to fly harmlessly past its bridge.

An explosion rocked the side of the giant craft as Megan fired off several rounds from her Atomic Bazooka. Looking over, Jayce realized that she had run out of her cover to fire at the ship. "Megan, get back!" he screamed.

Charging forward, she dodged the first shot from the Big Tray and was almost clear from the battleship's fire when a shot rang out that caused Jayce's heart to stop. He watched as the bullet ripped through her mobile suit's leg, tearing it off cleanly and ripping her to the ground just in front of the Big Tray's main cannon.

"No!" he screamed as the Big Tray fired one burst from the cannon which slammed into the Zaku II with such a force that it completely ripped it in half before the suit detonated into a fiery explosion.

His head swinging toward where the shot had come from, his blood ran cold as he watched the 120mm Autocannon and its owner slide back around the side of the hangar.

"You bastard!" Jayce screamed as he tried to charge toward Captain Durst, only to be stopped by the Big Tray firing at him.

"Jayce!" Naga screamed as he watched in terror.

His rage unabated, Jayce launched himself into the air, landing just in front of the Big Tray's bridge. Slamming his 120mm Autocannon through the glass, he squeezed the trigger as though he were trying to strangle it. Pounding round after round into the battleship, he never noticed when he ran out of ammo, still sweeping the autocannon back and forth to destroy those who had killed one of his friends. He didn't stop until Naga, who had been watching the scene with absolute horror, pulled him away from it, only to be shoved off so he could slam his fists into it.

"Jayce, stop."

His fist still reared back, he stopped when he heard the voice call to him. Swinging his mono-eye to the right, he stared at Leon who was standing next to Megan's crumbled mobile suit.

"Please, just stop."

**March 5, 0079  
****Baghdad, Iraq**

"While I would have preferred you simply disable it instead of completely crippling it, I do suppose it is still acceptable." Lt. Colonel Friedrich Neubach said as he looked up at the Big Tray.

"Consider it an early birthday present, Friedrich." Jayce replied as he stood next to his brother.

"Is it now?" Friedrich asked, looking back towards Jayce.

"Of course, my brother, I live only to serve you." Jayce replied solemnly, bowing his head slightly.

"As well you should." Friedrich replied coldly. "And should you forget that, do not think that I will not hesitate to punish you, such as for those comments you made towards Captain Durst following our last engagement."

Jayce didn't say a word, recalling word for word exactly what he had said.

"_You f-ing bastard! I'll kill you, I swear I will. Don't you dare sleep tonight, I'll slit your throat clear in half for what you did! Don't you ever think I'm going to forget this, I swear I'm going to kill you if it's the last thing I do!"_

"Don't think I'm going to take your words lightly, I know you, Dietrich. I know all about those little 'accidents' that happened back at the Academy. Who do you think covered your tracks for you? You're nowhere near as subtle as you tell yourself you are." Friedrich continued, his icy tone piercing Jayce's blood, making him shiver.

"Of course, my brother, I follow only your will." Jayce replied, kneeling down before Friedrich.

"Don't forget, Dietrich, you swore your debt in blood. Should you break your oath, your blood shall be spilt in retribution."

"Of course, Friedrich." Jayce replied, lowering his head.

"Now, if Durst were to die at the hands of the enemy, then you would not be found in fault."

Jayce's eyes widened as Friedrich spoke these words.

"Do you understand, Dietrich?" Friedrich asked, the coldness of his tone slowly fading away.

Jayce looked up towards his brother, locking eyes with him. "Completely, my brother."

----

"I could say I loved you, even though I may be wrong...And I know you loved me when I hurt you all along...We tried...to survive..." Jayce sang softly as he walked back to his new quarters, a small officer's room in one of the buildings within the airfield. When he had first been assigned it, he had been disappointed by the odd posters strewn haphazardly on the walls, but slowly, they were starting to grow on him.

"If we could go back, would you still kiss my tears?...Or maybe instead you would just forget those years we shared... because I didn't care...and I know it isn't fair..." He let out a loud sigh. _I'm really starting to miss Ann Louis...Maybe I should write her sometime, _he thought to himself. _I'm sure she'd really love that._

"But we're lost and we're broken...And every kiss and every wish is bleeding into lies...Are you surprised?...We're tossed and unspoken...And every laugh is drowned by another tear we cry...This is goodbye..."

He continued making his way down the hall, his eyes wandering around the now empty halls.

"Everything may seem like it's perfect on the outside...But sometimes when we laugh we're just trying not to cry."

He stopped in front of the door to his room, fumbling around his pockets for the key he had just been given not even an hour ago.

"We're lost and we're broken...And every wish and every kiss is bleeding into lies...Are you surprised?...We're tossed and unspoken...And every laugh is drowned by another tear we cry..."

Finally finding his key, he slid it into the keyhole, only to be surprised as the door simply opened to the touch.

"This is goodbye..."

He stared at his room, which was now occupied by four people.

"Yo." Naga said as he stood by Jayce's desk, his arms crossed and his face emotionless.

"What's going on here?" Jayce asked, turning his attention to the red-faced Leon sitting on his bed, then towards Jerry Madison who was sitting next to him, his arm over Leon's shoulder.

"We came to talk to you, Sir." Roger Salim answered from his assumed spot by the window.

"About what, exactly?" Jayce asked cautiously.

"Shut the door, Jayce, we don't want anyone hearing what we've gotta say." Naga replied, taking two steps towards Jayce.

Taking a step back, Jayce watched his friend cautiously. Naga continued walking towards him, staring him straight in the eye. Squeezing his right hand into a fist and bringing it back in preparation to strike, Jayce was surprised to see Naga stop a foot in front of him and grab the door, pulling Jayce inside quickly and slamming it shut.

Thrown off balance slightly by the shove, Jayce stumbled into the center of his room before spinning on his heels to prepare for the brawl he expected to occur. He was surprised, however, by the silent stares he received from the others.

"Well, now that we have our privacy, here's what we have to discuss." Naga said, breaking the silence as he resumed his position next to the desk. "We all heard what you said to Durst, and..." he shot a glance to the others before continuing, "We all agree with you."

Jayce was in shock by this response. Relief washed over him. _What could have made me think they would attack me for threatening Durst?_ He asked himself. "And?"

"And we want to help you." Leon replied, his voice raspy from the non-stop sobbing he had been doing since the battle had ended the day before. "We want to get that bastard for what he did to Megan."

Jayce stared at them for a moment, a slight frown forming on his lips. "You know what you're suggesting is considered treason, right?"

"I don't care!" Leon yelled, hopping off of the bed and walking towards Jayce. "I want that bastard to suffer for what he did!"

"Leon, calm down. We don't want anyone to hear you say that, especially someone from 1st Platoon." Jerry said as he walked over to Leon, trying to pull him back to the bed.

"Let them hear me, I'll kill them too! The bastards! They just stood there and watched Durst shoot her, and then told the Lt. Colonel that they didn't see anything like that!" Leon wailed before dropping to the floor and letting tears cover his face as he wept.

"Don't worry, Leon."

Leon looked back up towards Jayce, tears still streaming down his face.

"They'll all pay for what they did to her." Jayce said, his voice mimicking the cold and heartless tone of the Lt. Colonel perfectly. "But to do that, I will need absolute obedience from each and every one of you." His eyes wandered around the room towards the others.

All of the others nodded in consent.

"I am yours to command." Leon said suddenly, kneeling before Jayce with his head bowed low.

Jayce watched in amazement as the others copied Leon, including Naga.

"I would follow you to Hell, Sir." Naga said solemnly.

Jayce nodded. "Then you have sworn your loyalty to me. We're going to have to bide our time for now, but I swear to each and every one of you, we shall get out revenge."

The smallest trace of a smile formed on his lips as Jayce realized that this must be what Friedrich felt whenever he had to bow before him, and just as he began to revel in the feeling of power, he quickly dismissed it. What took its place, however, confused him momentarily, until he merely accepted it and said in a nearly hushed voice the final lyric of his sister's song.

"Welcome to the outside."

* * *

This was an interesting chapter to write, I seriously had to sit on it for a little while before I could go through with it. I'm still not entirely thrilled with it, so I may very well come back and change a lot of it at some point. At the moment though, I'm wanting to hurry up and get down with the next chapter which is one I've been dying to write since before I even started this story. Also, the song Jayce sings in this chapter is "Broken" and by a very good friend of mine. Permission must be given to use it in any other works. Otherwise, I'll be extremely mad, and it's really not a good thing to piss off a Marine, just an FYI. Thanks, now off to wait for the next chapter you go. That's right, just sit there, it'll be up soon enough, don't worry!

P.S. For those wondering in the previous chapter, Jody is basically what Marines refer to as the guy who steals your girl while you're gone to war.


	6. Ch 5, The Far Side of the Rabbit Hole

**Chapter 5 - The Far Side of the Rabbit Hole**

**April 3, 0079  
****Baghdad, Iraq**

"In the middle of the night in the drizzling rain"

"_In the middle of the night in the drizzling rain."_

"I pack my suit and jump on the plane."

"_I pack my suit and jump on the plane."_

"A mission top-secret, destination unknown."

"_A mission top-secret, destination unknown."_

"Don't even know if I'm a comin' home."

"_Don't even know if I'm a comin' home."_

"Sit up, strap in, ready for the door."

"_Sit up, strap in, ready for the door."_

"I launch right out and shout 'for Spacenoids!'"

"_I launch right out and shout 'for Spacenoids!'"_

"And if my gun don't fire wide."

"_And if my gun don't fire wide."_

"I've got a bazooka right by my side."

"_I've got a bazooka right by my side." _

"And if that one should fail me too."

"_And if that one should fail me too." _

"I've got a Heat Hawk awaitin' for you!"

"_I've got a Heat Hawk awaitin' for you!"_

"Oh yeah!"

"_Oh yeah!"_

"Motivated!"

"_Motivated!"_

"Dedicated!"

"_Dedicated!"_

"Oorah!"

"_Oorah!"_

"Oorah!" Jayce yelled again as he listened to the formation running with him repeat the cadence.

"Going home! Push it out, boys!" he hollered as he sped up the pace to finish their third lap around the airstrip, which was about three kilometers long. "Stay in formation!"

"He sure has been working those new guys pretty hard." Roger muttered as he finished off the rest of the water bottle he had sitting next to him.

"I think he's just wanting to make sure the replacements are up to par." Leon replied, as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Yeah, I mean, most of them are even completely used to ground combat yet, they're still pretty green." Jerry said as he watched the small formation slow down to a march and then disperse into a circle for cool down.

"He needs to take it easy is what he needs to be doing." Naga said, leaning back in his lawn chair as he watched Jayce rub his back lightly and wince slightly. "He still hasn't fully recovered from his injuries and he's over there running fricken' eighteen kilometers. He's going to reopen those wounds."

"Feeling a little bit guilty, Sir?" Jerry asked, a small grin on his face.

"Only slightly." Naga replied, setting his lawn chair back down and leaning forward. "But the Captain can do as he wants."

The others nodded and returned their gaze towards the new recruits who were breathing hard and inhaling the water bottles that Jayce tossed to them.

Rubbing his back, Jayce could still feel the small bumps where pieces of shrapnel had once been imbedded. Ignoring it, he called for one of the replacements to call the stretches before turning around and leaving them.

Walking over to Naga and the others, Jayce could only laugh at how they looked like they had set up for going to the beach. Situated under several large beach umbrellas, the four were sitting on lawn chairs sipping water. Naga was wearing a ridiculously large pair of aviator sunglasses and a bathing suit, while Leon and the others were only wearing their combat boots and rolled up pants.

_Let them have their fun,_ he thought,_ they've certainly earned it._ Looking up towards the single cloud that was hovering over the city, he felt a smile cross his lips. _Especially after how everything went according to plan._

**March 20, 0079  
****Baghdad, Iraq**

"Listen up!" Durst called to the members of Civic Company as they sat in the briefing room. "Today's going to be a big day for us. Thanks in most part to our heroic actions in taking this base, Lt. Colonel Neubach has presented us with the honor of leading an attack on Chateau Base in Kazakhstan. Apparently, those idiots in the 56th couldn't pull it off, so the Colonel volunteered the 11th to bear its namesake. This is a big honor for us, so I want every one of you to be at your peaks. Bring honor to the 11th, and glory to the Principality!"

While the members of 1st Platoon threw up their hands and shouted for the glory of the Principality, Jayce and the others remained deadly silent, merely staring at Durst as he finished the rest of the briefing.

As the others quickly filed out of the door to prep their mobile suits when he finished, Jayce remained in his seat, staring coldly at Durst.

"Something you need, Lieutenant?" Durst asked as he noticed the young man still seated.

"Just making sure I have everything memorized, Sir." Jayce replied cooly, his eyes locked on the image of the base on the screen behind Durst.

"Well, don't take too long, we're going to be launching in an hour." Durst said before leaving the room.

"I'm well aware." Jayce muttered, ignoring the fact that the Captain had already left the room. His eyes locked on a small building, he couldn't help but smile. "I've got you now."

----

"Wow! What are those!" Jerry cried out as he spotted the large jets sitting along the runway.

"They're called Gau's." Naga answered, his eyes locked on them. "Fresh from California Base, I hear. That aught to get us there a lot quicker."

"I was wondering how they were planning on us getting there so soon." Leon muttered.

"Yep, jets capable of carrying whole platoons of mobile suits, who'd of thought they'd spit them out so quickly." Roger said from beside Leon.

"From what I hear, these aren't exactly completely finished." Naga said, pulling his gaze away from the Gaus. "These ones were just made to carry mobile suits, no weapons on it or anything."

"Really?" the others asked in surprise.

"Yep, if the Federation has any air units in the area while we're flying, these boys'll just have to dump us and bug out." Naga muttered.

"Damn, that might not be good."

"You're telling me." Jayce said as he caught up with the others.

"So, what are you thinking, Jayce? Durst gonna have an accidental landing?" Leon asked, dropping his voice as several replacement pilots jogged past them calling out in amazement about the Gau carriers.

Jayce shook his head. "No."

"Then what?" Leon was staring at the Lieutenant with a pleading look on his face.

"Just wait, you'll see in due time." Jayce replied coldly. With that, he continued walking towards the Gau's to check on his mobile suit.

**March 20, 0079  
****Tian Shen Mountain Range, Kazakhstan**

"Well, that wasn't near as bad as I thought it might be." Naga muttered as his Zaku II landed gently onto the inclined rocks that led to the large mountain range ahead of them.

"I thought you told me you were an optimist." Jayce teased as he landed gently beside Naga.

"I am, I am! I swear." Naga replied, a bit of laughter in his voice.

"Come on." Jayce said, rolling his eyes.

Following the others, they slowly climbed the rocky ridge toward the objection. After about half an hour of climbing the semi-rocky terrain, they stopped to gain there bearing. Taking the chance while they waited on Captain Durst as he cursed at the fading out GPS signal, Jayce raised his mobile suit's hand on Naga's shoulder, creating a private channel between the two.

"What's up, man?" Naga asked as soon as he realized the channel had been made.

"When we get to the base, I'm going to paint a target. As soon as you see the designator activate, I want you, Leon, Roger, and Jerry to all fire a bazooka round at it, no matter what it is. You got that?" Jayce said in a near whisper, his eyes locked on Durst's mobile suit.

"Got it, Jayce."

**April 3, 0079  
****Baghdad, Iraq**

"Think you're working them hard enough, boss?" Naga asked as he looked up at Jayce.

"After how they did in Kazakhstan? I think they've earned a little workout." Jayce replied as he watched the replacements under the cover of one of the large umbrellas.

"You might want to be careful though, working them too hard in this weather might hurt them more than help them." Naga warned.

"If they can't handle the heat, they shouldn't have requested to join a desert unit." was the only response he got from Jayce.

"Let me know when we actually get to see the desert." Leon said, laughing as he turned to look out at the miles of grass fields off in the distance.

"Tell me about it. So far all we've been doing is mountain combat. I thought that's what the 56th was supposed to be so good at." Jerry chimed in.

"Apparently not." Roger added, a small smile on his face.

"Oh, they are." Jayce replied, a small grin spread across his lips.

"Really, then why were we the ones who had to take Chateau Base?" Naga asked, an eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"Who said they even tried to assault it?" Jayce asked.

"What? But...Durst said..." Leon sputtered in surprise.

"And he was told by Lt. Colonel Neubach." Jayce said, never looking once towards the others.

"What are you saying, Jayce?" Naga asked, leaning forward in his chair in interest.

"Let's just say that the Colonel was a little sympathetic towards our small plight against Durst." Jayce replied, the grin on his face spreading even wider.

**March 20, 0079  
****Chateau Base, Tian Shen Mountain Range, Kazakhstan**

"Holy shit, we're supposed to capture _that_?!" Naga exclaimed as he caught sight of the large mountainside that was known as Chateau Base.

"Naga! Keep quiet and keep down!" Jayce called in a loud whisper, his Zaku crouched down to keep from being seen over the large ridge.

"Have you even seen it, man, how the hell does the Colonel expect just us to capture that?" Naga kept going, ignoring Jayce's warning.

He had every right to be standing there wide-eyed in surprise. Chateau Base had been built in the early years of space colonization, created as sort of a gateway between China and Russia when conflicts began to arise. Carved into the mountainside, the base was littered by dozens of heavy cannons that looked as though they had been stripped off of battleships and placed instead inside the giant fortress and spread out by several kilometers. It was indeed a fortress.

"Alright, boys, it looks like they haven't quite spotted us just yet, so here's what we're going to do." Durst called, trying to usher the others closer to him. "Just like I said in the briefing, 1st Platoon is going to go around towards the right, while 2nd Platoon will encircle from the left. 3rd Platoon will—

He was cut off by the shrill scream of artillery shells flying overhead and the thunderous clap as several detonated about a hundred meters behind them, blowing chucks off of the ridge they were positioned on.

"F-ing hell, they've spotted us!" Leon screamed, maneuvering his mobile suit behind another ridge for better cover.

"Shit, everybody move!" Durst screamed as he slammed on the thrusters, propelling his suit away from the area before more artillery shells came slamming fifty meters closer to them.

The others followed his example, 1st Platoon boosting after him while Jayce and the others made their way around the other side of the mountain range like they had originally planned. As artillery shells slammed around them, Jayce did his best to keep up with Durst's movement, even managing to spot as Cpl. Reignor, McMillan's replacement, was lost under the immense explosion of several shells slamming into his Zaku.

An explosion behind him brought his attention back to his own problems.

"Shit! We just lost Henderson!" Leon yelled.

Risking a look, Jayce discovered that Leon was indeed correct. Cpl. Henderson, one of the new replacements in his platoon was nowhere to be seen, the only sign a trail of smoke a hundred meters behind them where he assumed Henderson had taken the hit.

"F-! Just keep moving!" Jayce screamed, turning to devote full attention to his charge towards the base.

After what seemed an eternity, the heavier artillery ceased their fire. But, before Jayce and the others could breath in relief, many more others began to open up on them. Finally being close enough to hit them, Jayce and the others relished in returning fire on the open bunkers.

"Jayce, they're sending out the tanks!" Naga called.

Looking up, Jayce spotted several Type-61's scrambling out of a large doorway encased inside of an armored bunker.

"Leon, take out that bunker!" Jayce screamed as he opened fire with his autocannon towards the exiting tanks.

Distracted by the exploding tanks, the other tanks still trying to exit were caught by the three bazooka rounds that Leon had launched directly into the opening, warping them under the immense fire of the 280mm rounds.

Although the tanks were taken care of, Jayce and the others were still in danger from the immense artillery being fired on them. Taking cover behind a small plateau just before the large base, they hunched down as they listened to the shells slowly grind away from their cover.

"Where the hell's Durst?" Jayce called.

"Over there!" Naga replied, his mobile suit pointing towards another small group of hills where Durst and the others were hunched down.

"Alright!" Jayce called, his mind made up on what he was about to do. "I'm gonna paint some of the targets. When I do, all of you open fire on them when I tell you to. Go!"

With that, Jayce launched himself away from the plateau and aimed his rifle towards one of the larger bunkers. Instead of opening fire on it, he opened up one of the newer features of his rifle and used the laser designator to paint it. Of course, this left him completely exposed to the numerous artillery pieces that were taking advantage of his weakness and were firing like man at him.

"Do it! Fire now!" Jayce screamed as he narrowly dodged a large volley of cannon fire.

All at once 2nd and 3rd Platoon jumped up and fired upon the bunker, utterly destroying it under their immense bombardment. In the confusion of the explosion, Jayce slammed his Zaku II back behind the plateau as the other bunkers began to once more fire on him to avenge their fallen comrades.

"Well, that worked quite nicely." Jayce muttered as he hunched down beside Naga.

"Yeah, it did, actually." Naga replied. "Is this part of your plan?"

"A small part of it, yeah." Jayce replied as the fire lessened slightly. "Everyone ready for another go?"

Not waiting for a reply, Jayce hit the boosters on his Zaku, propelling him closer to the bunkers as he aimed for another slightly lower one. Ignoring him for the moment, they continued to concentrate their fire on the small plateau, slowly eating away at his friend's small concealment. Opening fire on one of the bunkers, they turned their attention to him once more as several smaller emplacements erupted into fiery detonation.

"Fire now!" he screamed as he painted another target amidst the eruptions around him.

Once again, the two platoons fired upon the hapless bunker and it erupted quickly, taking two more alongside it as their ammunition cooked off.

"Now, now, get ready!" Jayce screamed as he quickly aimed for another one. Launching back, he stumbled a bit as he screamed fire, just enough to where his rifle was no longer pointed towards Chateau Base, but towards 1st Platoon.

All at once, before they even knew where they were aiming, the platoons opened fire again, stopping only when they realized they were now firing upon the hapless platoon.

"Oh shit!" Naga screamed as he watched the bazooka round he had fired slammed directly into Cpl. Zhukov's Zaku, causing it to disappear under a mass of shredded metal as the others detonated likewise.

Momentarily confused, the artillery fire stopped. Silence ensued throughout the battlefield until a lone voice screamed out in wrath and hatred, "Adalin!"

"Looks like I pissed somebody off." Jayce said to no on in particular.

Amidst the rubble of dead mobile suits, Durst emerged with his autocannon pointed directly towards Jayce.

"Hey, Captain, didn't see you there." Jayce called. Looking to the others he quickly said, "Let's forget the painting, it doesn't seem to be working. Fire at will!"

As if taking a cue, the artillery began to fire once more, as did Naga and the remaining platoons and Durst. Avoiding both the Federation fire and Durst's, Jayce launched his mobile suit towards Durst, zig-zagging to keep away from the bullets and shells.

"Adalin!" Durst screamed as his fire continuously missed.

"Durst!" Jayce screamed back, coming face-to-face with Durst.

Momentarily stupefied by Jayce's sudden apparition, Durst was thrown off by him as Jayce slammed his Zaku into his and knocked him into the rocks behind him. Before he could react, Jayce spun around him and locked his arms around Durst's, temporarily rendering his mobile suit immobile.

"This is for Dix." Jayce said through grit teeth as he used his thrusters to push Durst into the open plain.

"Stop! Stop!" Durst screamed as he tried to free himself from Jayce's vicelike grip.

"Die." Jayce said, his voice cold and emotionless.

"No." Durst said quietly as he watched one of the artillery pieces aim directly towards him.

As the explosion that was supposed to rip through his mobile suit flew directly past his head, Durst could only stare in wonder as his mobile suit flew forward.

"Shit!" Jayce screamed as his Zaku's right arm disappeared in a blaze from another artillery piece. Looking around, he spotted Durst regaining his composure about fifty meters before him. Pulling out his Heat Hawk from his back, Jayce charged right after Durst.

"Stay back, Adalin!" Durst screamed as he opened fire on his subordinate.

Ignoring the rounds smashing into his suit, Jayce continued his charge towards his prey. As soon as he was close enough, he swung at Durst, slicing his autocannon clear in half. Boosting backwards, Jayce gave room for Durst to draw his own Heat Hawk and swing it towards him. Easily sidestepping the slash, Jayce quickly boosted over Durst's head and began charging towards the bunkers.

"Naga, when I tell you to, fire on the coordinates I gave you, got it?" Jayce called as he dodged another volley directed towards him.

"Got ya, Jayce!" Naga called.

Launching himself into the air, Jayce looked over his shoulder to make sure Durst was still close behind him, which indeed he was. As he began his descent, he screamed out "Now, Naga!"

Landing atop the large bunker that he had memorized from the photos, he slammed once more onto his thrusters just as Naga's bazooka round slammed into the bowels of the bunker and sent him flying through the air.

"Shit!" he screamed as his Zaku tumbled head over heels before crashing back into the earth. Pain raced through his entire body as he tried to move. Staring up at the sky, he struggled for a moment to lift his Zaku up from the ground. Alarm claxons screamed at him, alerting him that his mobile suit was missing most of its lower half. "Shit!" he screamed again as he watched Durst land safely beside him.

"What did you think would happen?" Durst said as he stood over Jayce. "That you could actually kill me?"

"No." Jayce muttered, spitting up a little bit of blood from biting his lip once again, "Just trying to piss you off."

"What?" Durst asked, surprised by this comment.

"And just buying time for someone else." Jayce muttered, his voice trailing.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Durst asked.

"Son of a bitch!" Leon screamed as he slammed his Zaku into Durst's.

Taken off guard by the sudden attack, Durst was flung from his position into a nearby bunker.

"Do not screw with me like your little bitch did!" Durst screamed as he pushed himself away from the bunker and turned towards Leon.

"Die!" Leon screamed as he slammed his autocannon into Durst's chest, firing round after round into the cockpit.

Jayce couldn't help but smile as he watched Leon exact his revenge. Consciousness slowly fading away, the last thing he would recall from the battle would be the image of Leon leaning over Durst's now dead Zaku II, the mobile suit shaking as though it were Leon's actual body.

**April 3, 0079  
****Baghdad Iraq**

"Alright, now, I want you to take it easy today." the physical trainer was telling Jayce as he slowly lifted himself up on the curl-up bar.

Jayce merely grunted in response as he counted out the number of the rep, which in this case was twenty-eight. Slowly lowering himself, he moved toward the bench press and placed enough weights to equal 260 pounds. Starting a slow rep, he began pushing towards twenty reps before the doctor stopped him.

"See, this is what I'm talking about." he said," you've got to pace yourself better. If you keep this up—

"I've got to set an example for the others." Jayce interrupted. "If I look like I'm weaker than them, what kind of leader are they going to think I am?"

The trainer merely sighed. "Captain, I know you want to set a good example, but if you keep going at this rate, you'll burn out and only end up hurting yourself in the long run. They all know you're different from Durst, you don't have to prove a point."

Jayce paused in mid-air, turning to stare at the trainer. Gulping loudly, the trainer quickly apologized. "I'm sorry, Sir. It's just that, from what I've heard, the reason you've been pushing yourself is because you've been trying to overcome the rumors behind your previous commander. I meant no offense."

"My only commander is Lt. Colonel Neubach." Jayce replied coldly, finishing his rep before returning the bar to its rightful place.

"Of course he is, Sir. I wasn't trying to suggest..." the trainer stammered as he tried in vain to regain his composure.

"Suggest what?" Jayce asked as he stared at the trainer.

"Nothing, Sir."

"Good." Jayce said as he moved over towards one of the more complex machines that worked out the greater portion of his upper body.

"I see the Captain is trying to get himself in top shape for his new little baby, huh?" Naga said as he made his way inside of the weight room.

"That thing is nothing more than a suped up Zaku." Jayce muttered as he pulled the bar on the machine, grunting lightly from the strain of the weights.

"Still, that thing is pretty kick-ass." Naga muttered before sitting himself down on the bench press. "What was it called again?"

"A Gouf, I think." Jayce replied.

"Well, you still earned it."

"If you say so."

**March 21, 0079  
****Chateau Base, Tian Shen Mountain Range, Kazakhstan**

"Wha...?" Jayce uttered as he slowly awoke from his stupor.

"Ah, good. You're awake, we were starting to get worried, Jayce." a familiar voice called out to him.

"Where am I?" Jayce asked as he slowly tried to push himself up from the ground, stopping after only an inch as pain seared throughout the entirety of his back.

"Whoa, whoa! Take it easy, man, you've got some pretty bad injuries." Naga said as he ran over to his friend. "Just lie down for awhile, we've got everything under control."

His vision still a blur, Jayce slowly moved his head to look around the room. They were inside of what appeared to be one the firing platform of one of the larger artillery pieces. From what he could hear, Leon was talking to some unseen person. Straining to listen, he quickly realized who he was talking to.

"Civic Company to Command, reinforcements requested, do you copy? Booker Company in route, but may not be enough to hold Base. Do you copy?"

"I miss something?" Jayce muttered as he lowered his head back down to lie on the blankets that had been made into a makeshift pillow.

"Not that much. The Feddies basically scrammed once the rest of us caught up to you, we were way too close for their guns to do much and I think we just wiped out their tanks at the very start. Managed to find a way to get the mobile suits inside through a back door. While we were patching you up, we sealed off some of the exits so they couldn't sneak back in. About once every few hours now they'll fire off some artillery at us and send a company or two of tanks and infantry, but it hasn't been hard to hold them off. We've gotten a hold of Command and the Colonel's sending Booker Company, but they ran into some trouble along the way and it'll probably be another half a day before they get here so I've been trying to get Leon to get us some more guys quickly. Mostly, we've just been waiting on you to wake up." Naga replied.

"Yeah, well, thanks for taking care of the boys." Jayce muttered, his mind wandering from the lightness he felt from his headache. "I'll be sure to commend you for a promotion."

Naga merely laughed. "I doubt they'll let you do that, what with me being the cause of your injuries and everything."

"Eh, it's not that bad." Jayce replied, wincing as pain shot through his side. "Only a flesh wound."

"Yeah, I bet if you could see it you wouldn't be saying the same thing." Naga said, his voice in a near whisper.

"It'll be fine, Naga. We'll all make it back." Jayce mumbled, his mouth partially covered from the blankets.

"I know we will, Jayce. It's just..." Naga trailed off.

"You want me to take command, huh?" Jayce asked.

"I know you're not doing so hot, but I've just never been one to be able to do more than just my own boys." Naga replied.

Jayce nodded. "That's fine. Keep Madison around as a runner so I can know what's going on. Keep Leon in contact with Command until reinforcements arrive, then put him in your platoon."

A large screech sounded outside and was soon followed by a loud roar as the side of the mountain was rocked by artillery fire.

"Looks like they're at it again." Naga muttered.

"Then why are you still here?" Jayce asked, lifting his head up enough to look over towards Naga. "Get down to the boys, we've got some Feddies to send packing."

"Yes, Sir!"

**March 23, 0079  
****Tian Shen Mountain Range, Kazakhstan**

"Welcome aboard." Captain Alderaan said as he helped the six members of Civic Company into the still heavily damaged Big Tray that Jayce had captured only a few weeks ago. "Looks like you've had a rough couple of days."

Rough was an understatement. The six men wore tattered uniforms, faces dirty and nasty from lack of bathing, their eyes wild from lack of sleep. Jayce was being carried in on a stretcher, his clothes soaked in red from blood loss.

"We sent Booker Company to lend you a hand, but their transports got hit by some heavy AA. They lost half the company and spent the rest of the time trying to fight their way back home." Alderaan apologized. "When they got back, Lt. Colonel Neubach got all gung-ho about bringing the entire battalion, especially when he heard about Captain Durst and Lt. Adalin."

"I bet." was all Naga could manage to say in a hoarse voice.

"Yeah, it was kind of odd though. Neubach was his usual hard-ass self when he heard Durst got killed, but the moment he heard about Adalin being injured he flipped his shit. He jumped right out of his chair and starting to scream about mobilizing everyone. From what I hear, he tried to get on the horn with Brigadier General Wesreidrau about getting the 12th and the 63rd about busting through to save all of you. I've never seen him act like that."

"That is weird." Leon managed to mutter, his voice barely audible.

----

"Well, Adalin, it looks like you did exactly what you set out to do." Lt. Colonel Friedrich Neubach said as he watched his little brother sleep on the medical bed.

The room was silent, save for the occasional beep from his vitals, showing that Jayce was indeed still alive, albeit barely.

"He'll make it, Sir." one of the medics said as he looked in from the doorway. "He suffered from some shrapnel wounds to the back and legs, but it's nothing too serious. It's the blood loss that we're worried about, but we're taking care of that right now. He just needs to rest for awhile, he's been under a lot of stress these past few days."

Friedrich nodded. "Understood. You're dismissed."

"Yes, Sir." the medic replied, giving a quick salute before leaving, making sure to close the door behind him.

As soon as he was sure he was alone, Friedrich rested his head in his hand, rubbing his forehead with his thumb and index finger. "Was it worth it, Dietrich?" he asked as he put his hand on top of Jayce's.

"He's dead, isn't he?" Jayce muttered, giving Friedrich's hand a weak squeeze.

Opening his eyes, Friedrich stared at his brother.

"What? You think a few small injuries like this would stop me from seeing my brother act at least partially human?" Jayce muttered, his voice hoarse and dry.

"Partially human, eh?" Friedrich said, the smallest trace of a smile forming on his face.

"Yeah, you remember what it's like to be that, huh?" Jayce replied, a grin spreading across his face.

"I do." Friedrich said, standing up from his chair. He turned to leave, but was stopped when Jayce squeezed his hand once more.

"Friedrich..." Jayce said in a near whisper.

"Get some sleep, Dietrich." Friedrich replied, his cold voice completely replaced with an almost unfamiliar warmth. "We'll talk later."

"Friedrich..." Jayce said again. "Are you crying?"

Friedrich brought a hand to his eye and wiped away the small trace of liquid that had formed. "Of course not. It's just the weather in here, it is merely condensation."

"Whatever." Jayce said as he slowly rolled his head toward the small porthole that gave him the smallest view of the outside world. "I'm telling Mom that you were crying."

Friedrich merely shook his head. "Moments away from death and he still wants to crack jokes..."

**April 3, 0079  
****Baghdad, Iraq**

Jayce watched as the sun set over the Iraqi sky. It was probably one of the few things he enjoyed about life on Earth. The mixture of colors that spread out across the sky was something he had never seen in space. It was beautiful.

"I know I've said it a million times before," Naga said as he stared up at the sky and slowly sipped the beer in his hand, "but we did it, Jayce."

"Yes, we did." Jayce replied as he took a beer from the small ice chest they had sitting between them.

"A couple of times, I got a little worried, especially when they stopped sending just one company and started sending a bunch at a time. I had faith in you though."

"You really trusted a half-conscious man half loopy from the loss of blood?" Jayce asked before taking a long swig of his beer.

"Of course." Naga replied, laughing. "Like I said before, I'll follow you to the very end."

"I'll drink to that." Jayce muttered, tapping his glass against Naga's before taking another long swig.

* * *

Wow, that took a good bit longer to write than I figured it would. Of course, I think it's mostly due to my currently poor academic standing and having to do 10 hours of Study Hall a week, which really eats away with time I'd rather spend working on this. Oh well, the next one should be up hopefully by the end of this week, but more than likely it'll be next week before I can get time to work more thoroughly on it. Of course, a review or two might motivate me enough to get it up by Sunday (hint, hint). Well, I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing it. Later. 


	7. Ch 6, Sweat Saves Blood

**Chapter 6 - Sweat Saves Blood**

**April 30, 0079  
****Baghdad, Iraq**

One month. One month of pointless patrols. One month of senselessly staring at the sand. One month of having to sit around in the hot desert sun. One month of sitting on his ass and hydrating while he worked on his tan. Captain Jayce Adalin was bored.

He sat in a large lawn chair, wearing only sunglasses and a pair of their newly issued desert drab pants. Naga sat to his right, dressed in similar fashion. Leon was staring off into the horizon, watching as several Zakus practiced maneuvering about the airfield.

They were playing host to the 17th Foreign Legion while they trained for desert conditioning. The pitiful training the Legion had had before they arrived was laughable at best. While most could barely manage to keep their mobile suits steady on the firing range, many were quickly succumbing to heat exhaustion from not hydrating enough.

Jayce sighed, looking over towards the hanger where his new mobile suit was located in. It had been a present from Friedrich, to congratulate him on his promotion. He'd already piloted it around practically everyday since he had received it, but at the moment it was currently undergoing some extreme bodywork in order to make it capable of performing at its utmost in the desert. He could already feel the itch to pilot it again. He had yet to take it into combat, and already he was beginning to feel the urge to prove it on the battlefield.

"Watch this." Naga muttered, leaning close to Jayce as he watched three Zakus trying to close in to one another for a tight formation, "That one on the right is gonna screw it all up."

Sure enough, as Jayce watched, the one on the right swung in too far and slammed into the left, knocking it completely over. Letting out a loud sigh, Jayce could only shake his head.

"What good is sending in a Foreign Legion if they don't even bother training them." Jayce muttered.

"That's Foreign Legion for you, worthless mercenaries. They should have trained on their own before they came down here." Leon said, giving up on watching the embarrassing maneuvers.

"Hey, don't down talk about them, they're loyal to Zeon and they're willing to fight for us." Naga said, throwing him a glare as Jayce looked off.

"Whatever you say." Leon muttered. "I can't watch this. I'm gonna go 'dehydrate.' I'll catch you later."

Once Leon had left, Naga looked over towards Jayce. "Look, man, don't take it personally."

"It's alright." Jayce replied, watching as the fallen Zaku was pulled back to its feet by the one that had knocked it down.

"Hey, let's do something tonight." Naga said suddenly.

"Like what?" Jayce asked, looking over towards his friend.

"I dunno." Naga replied, leaning back in his chair with his head resting on his hands. "I feel like just hitting up the town or something."

Jayce stared for a moment. "I don't think this is the right town to 'hit up,' Naga." he said.

"Aw, come on, Jayce!" Naga exclaimed. "We've been stuck on this base for two months now. I haven't seen a pair of breasts since I watched that nurse drag your ass onto Das Sandmann."

Jayce merely shook his head. Das Sandmann, that's what Friedrich had ended up naming the Big Tray he had captured. His brother's sense of humor was about as bad as his tone was cold. If he'd had his way, it would have been called the "Extreme Awesomeness Spectacular," but Friedrich had merely sighed and shook his head as he told Jayce to grow up. Jayce let out a sigh, he had thought it was a great name.

"Well, don't you two look like the epitome of the Zeon Army?" a voice called behind them, causing both Jayce and Naga to turn and jump to their feet at attention.

"Morning, Sir." they said in unison.

"Oh, what? You're going to go out of your way for formalities for me?" Major Clark Davis asked, a grin on his face.

"Just setting an example for the enlisted fellows." Naga replied.

"I bet." Davis muttered, his eyes moving towards the Foreign Legion mobile suits. "Well, since you two have been 'working' so hard, the Lt. Colonel has seen fit to provide you with a few days off."

"Really?" Naga asked, excitement escaping in his voice.

"Yep, and it's your lucky day, too." the Major replied, "There's a jet leaving in a few hours for North America. If you hurry, I'm sure you can catch a ride on it."

"Thank you, Sir." Jayce said, a little bit of excitement betrayed in his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. Just get outta here before the other officers get the same idea to lay out. We can't be looking bad in front of those Foreign Legion boys." Major Davis said before turning around and leaving.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Naga asked as he spun on his heels, "Let's get the f— outta here!"

----

An hour later the two stood beside the large Gau that would take them to the Americas. While Naga had only put on a light tan undershirt, Jayce had donned his full dress uniform, even going so far as to wear the cape he had received only a few days ago. And unlike Naga, who had brought along three bags full of clothes, Jayce carried with him only his rucksack which was filled about halfway with clothes and toiletries.

"Think you overdid it a little?" Jayce asked as he eyed the bags.

"I could say the same thing about you." Naga replied, a smirk on his face. "You're gonna be drenched in sweat by the time we leave, they're gonna think you swam the whole way there."

"Shut up." Jayce said, giving Naga a playful shove.

"Hey, hey!" Naga cried as he tumbled over one of his bags. "Careful now, I don't want to get injured before I get to see all of those hot American girls who love a man in uniform."

Jayce merely laughed. "Hey, you're the one who's engaged, you wouldn't want me writing Gayle a nasty letter about how unfaithful you are, do you?"

"Hey, I can look, but I can't touch." Naga replied as he pulled himself to his feet. "No harm, no foul."

"Yeah, yeah." Jayce rolled his eyes. He pulled at the collar of his uniform, trying to get the slightest bit of air to pass into it.

"See, I told you you'd get too hot in that thing." Naga said, a large grin spreading across his face.

"Eh, we'll be on the plane in a few minutes, then it'll be smooth sailing with cold AC the whole way." Jayce muttered in response.

"Riiight." Naga replied. "Hey, Leon, you riding with us too?" he called as he looked past Jayce.

Jayce spun around to find Leon making his way over to them.

"No, Sir, just came over to say my goodbyes." Leon replied, eyeing the plane with a hint of envy. "I'm stuck here keeping an eye on our boys."

"Well, feel free to ride their asses until they can't stand up anymore." Naga replied. "Or, would the Captain prefer our Staff Sergeant to go easy on the fellas?"

Leon merely smiled, his right hand rubbing the new chevrons sewn onto his uniform. The promotion had come only a week ago, Command having taken that long to receive Jayce's commendation for him.

"Do as you please, Leon." Jayce said, patting the young man on the head playfully.

"You're going to miss your flight if you don't hurry up." Leon said, batting Jayce's hand away.

"Oh shit, he's right!" Naga yelled as he grabbed his bags, "Come on, Jayce, let's go!"

----

Major Davis watched as Jayce and Naga scrambled to get on the jet as it began to close it's door. "Are you sure it's wise to let them leave, Sir?" he asked to the man beside him.

"Absolutely." Lt. Colonel Friedrich Neubach replied as he leaned back in the lawn chair he had requisitioned from an enlisted pilot. "Why wouldn't it be?"

"Well, I thought there was still a strong Federation presence in Saudi Arabia, near the 12th Battalion." Davis said, watching as the plane made it's way down the runway.

"Nonsense." Friedrich replied, pulling out a pair of sunglasses and putting them on. "Even if there is, the 12th can handle it, I'm sure."

"I hope your right, Sir." Davis muttered.

"I'm always right." Friedrich replied. "Now, pass me the sunblock, I'm getting the worse farmer's tan out here."

**April 30, 0079  
****New York City, North America**

"God, you think that ride could have been any longer?" Naga asked as they finally stepped off the plane. Like Jayce, he was now wearing his full dress uniform, complete with his more inferior cape.

"It wasn't that bad, now was it?" Jayce asked as he followed behind Naga.

"Maybe if we didn't have to stop in Africa..." Naga muttered. Looking up, he suddenly perked up a good bit. "Ladies, I knew it!" he cried out as he spotted two females standing near the runway. "Hold this." he said as he tossed his bags to Jayce.

Barely able to catch one of them, Jayce was knocked down by the next one, only to have the third one land atop his head. "Naga..." he muttered as he watched Naga flirt shamelessly with the two women.

"Dietrich, is that you?" a voice asked behind him, causing Jayce to shift under the bags to see who was speaking to him.

"James Macalroy?" he cried out as he recognized the face.

"The one and only." the young blonde haired officer said as he smiled at his old friend.

"I haven't seen you in forever! How have you been?" Jayce asked, knocking the bags away from him and walking over to his friend, wrapping his arms around him tightly in a hug.

"I'm making it."James managed to sputter as his lungs were squeezed tight from the hug. "Roger Lowimore is here too."

"He is?!" Jayce cried letting go of James. "Where is he? I feel like I'm back at the Academy now."

James merely laughed. "I see you haven't grown much since then too, huh?"

Jayce gave a fake huff, crossing his arms as he looked at his old friend. "I've grown quite a bit, thank you very much. From what I hear, you haven't done much of anything since you left. I see you're still a Lieutenant."

James smiled. "And from what I've heard, you've been making a name for yourself in the desert. How'd you get to be a Captain so quickly? Flirt with the battalion commander like you did to Commander McKinsey?"

Jayce crossed his arms. "Blood and guts and a little bit of danger, I'll have you know." he replied, laughing a little as he spoke the lines of his favorite cadence. "And besides, I don't think anyone could get away with flirting with Friedrich, he's so cold-hearted he'd consider it an insult if anyone were to compliment him."

"Ah ha! So it is true you joined your brother's unit. I'd heard a few things, but I wasn't sure." James said, a sly look on his face.

"Yeah, yeah. Well, nobody but Friedrich knows I'm his brother in the unit." Jayce replied, his tone growing sour.

"Yeah, I heard you changed your name too." James replied casually.

"And who do you keep 'hearing' things about me from?"

"Dietrich, Dietrich, I'm an intelligence officer. I know everything." James replied casually.

"It's Jayce now." Jayce said, casting a quick glance over towards Naga. "Jayce Adalin."

"Hey, it could be Tucker Max for all I care." James replied, laughing loudly, "You'll still be ol' DeeDee to me."

"DeeDee, I haven't heard that in years." another voice boomed from behind the two. Roger Lowimore laughed as he made his way next to James. "My Gods, I haven't seen you since graduation. Dietrich, how've you been?"

"It's Jayce Adalin now," James said to Roger. "He changed it, remember?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that." Roger laughed as he scratched his head.

"Some information specialist you are, can't even remember when your friends change their names at the drop of a hat." James said dryly, shaking his head.

A loud thwack caught their attention and all three heads turned towards the sound just in time to see Naga fall flat on his rear from the slap one of the female officers gave him, along with the shrill scream of "You pig!"

Jayce shook his head. "I'll be right back." he said before making his way over to Naga.

"All I was saying is that she could show me around town, get a good look at the giant skyscrapers around here, maybe give 'em a feel or two. What's wrong with that?" Naga asked as Jayce pulled him to his feet.

"Naga, sometimes I wonder..." Jayce trailed off, rolling his eyes.

"So, who's this?" James asked as he made his way over towards them, Roger following close behind.

"James, Roger, this is 2nd Lt. Naga Mitsuharu. He's one of the platoon commanders in my Company." Jayce said, waving a hand towards Naga. "And these sad sacks are Lt. James Macalroy and Lt. Roger Lowimore."

"Junior Grades, but we'll see how long that lasts." Roger said, extending his hand to the asian.

"Yeah, we met ol' DeeDee back at the Academy." James said as he took his turn to shake Naga's hand.

"DeeDee?" Naga threw an inquisitive look to Jayce.

"It's a long story that **does not** need to be told." Jayce said coldly, casting a glance towards James who merely shrugged and smiled.

"Yeah, well, hey! I just got us a car for the weekend, you boys need a ride anywhere?" Roger asked.

"Yeah, actually. There's a hotel where we're supposed to check-in at, um, here it is." Jayce replied as he fumbled for a note in his pocket. Handing it to Roger, he asked very simply, "Can you get us there?"

Roger looked down at the name of the hotel. "The Peninsula, eh? Someone must really like you."

----

"These rooms are incredible!" Naga exclaimed as he ran around the suite, gawking over every luxury the room was filled with.

"You really are a child, sometimes, you know that?" Jayce muttered as he unbuttoned his jacket and hung it on a hangar.

"Not as bad as you are, Sir." Naga replied as he started jumping atop the king-size bed, knocking most of Jayce's clothes onto the floor.

"Don't give me that crap, Naga. Now calm down before the neighbors call the manager on us." Jayce said sternly, his brow wrinkling as he frowned at Naga.

"Yes, Mom." Naga laughed as he hopped down from the bed, only to be responded with a stuck out tongue by Jayce. "And you say I'm a child, eh?"

"Hurry up and get dressed, James and Roger said they'd be back in an hour to take us out on the town.

"Yeah, yeah." Naga muttered walking over to his suitcase and pulling out some clothes. "So, when are you gonna tell me about DeeDee?" he asked suddenly.

"When I'm on my death bed." Jayce replied coldly before pulling on a shirt.

"Aw, come on, Jayce! Don't be like that. It can't be all that bad. Or is it something embarrassing? I'd understand that."

"It's from a past life, you wouldn't understand." Jayce replied, his voice still cold as ice. "Now hurry up and get ready, I wanna see the city."

"Yes, Sir."

----

"You'll like this place, it's real cozy." Roger said as they walked into the bar.

"McBride's? Sounds real cozy." Jayce muttered dryly as he followed the others to the counter, sitting next to Naga.

"Just give it a try." James said reassuringly, "Hey, Caleb, a round for the new guys."

"Coming right up." the bartender replied before reaching under the counter and pulling out four bottles, opening each one before sliding them over to them.

"Hits the spot!" Naga called as he quickly drained the bottle.

"Wow, Naga, you're not an alcoholic or anything." Jayce muttered as he sipped his beer.

"Aw, come on, Jayce! Lighten up!" Naga said, giving Jayce a playful slap on the back. "We've been stuck out in the desert so long, tonight we just get to screw around."

"You two are from the desert?" a small voice asked. Turning around, Jayce and Naga smiled as they saw three girls standing behind them

"Well, we've been stuck out in the desert for the past few months." Naga began, his tone already showing he was planning on flirting with each and every one of them before the night's end.

"That must have been awful!" one of the girls said.

"Oh it was, there was so much sand and dirt and it was always so hot!" Naga droned in his coy tone. "The only bright side was that we could work on our tan, you know, when we weren't fighting of course."

"Oh, so you're soldiers?" the third asked.

Even Naga stopped flirting and merely stared at the girl, a look of confusion and disbelief as to whether the girl was really that stupid or not. "Yes, yes we are." he finally said fairly plainly.

"I bet you've got plenty of stories to tell." the girl in the front said, attempting to make up for her friend's comment.

"Of course, come sit up here and I'll tell you a few." Naga replied, patting his lap affectionately.

An hour later, after listening to Naga tell stories that he had no idea where they came from, Jayce quickly became bored with both the bar and the unintelligent girl who had saddled up beside him.

"Jayce looks like he's about to fall asleep." Roger said, snapping Jayce out of the daydream he was having.

"I'm fine." Jayce tried to assure him, but gave up after the long yawn escaped his lips.

"Eh, same here." James said, his arm wrapped around the other, slightly more intelligent girl. "Let's go find somewhere else with a little more life to it."

"What are you talking about?!" Naga exclaimed, "Am I not life enough for everyone?"

"No, let's get outta here." Jayce answered, quickly standing up and making his way to the door.

The others quickly caught up, and after convincing the girls to come with them, they made their way down the street until they found another bar that appeared much more crowded than the near empty McBride's.

"Much better!" James said as he entered.

"Yeah, loads." Jayce muttered dryly.

"You don't like it?" the girl who had somehow become attached to his hip asked.

"I'd much rather be hit by a volley from a Big Tray than be here." he muttered.

"A big tray? No, they only have normal trays here, they hold about the same." the girl replied.

Jayce merely shook his head and sat down at the booth the others had gathered at, not even bothering to make space for the girl. As he sat, he began to listen to the other patrons talk, quickly growing more interested in their conversations than the pathetic one the girl was trying to hold with him.

"So, the 61 just comes outta nowhere! And the next thing I know, both my arms are gone and the thing just keeps charging me. And I'm scared as hell, I mean, what am I gonna do?"

"We just charge straight in, the Feddies didn't even know we were there until we were knocking on the control tower asking whether they were gonna surrender or not. Can you believe that?"

"And I tell the Sarge, I'll be honest with you, Sir. I don't trust you in the least bit. You're sneaky, scheming, and you lie a lot. But God damned if you don't make me laugh!"

Chuckling lightly, Jayce didn't even notice that the girl had stopped talking, nor did he even care. Leaning back in his seat, he finished the last of his fourth beer and listened to the others talk until he heard the magic words he'd been waiting to here for the past half hour.

"Let's get outta here, go back to my place." Naga said to the girl he'd been flirting shamelessly with.

"How about you? Thinking the same thing?" James asked his girl. Nodding, the four got up and made their way to the door. Roger, Jayce, and the third girl sat there for a moment before the girl piped up.

"Wanna follow them?" she asked Jayce.

"Not with you." he replied coldly, sucking on the foam that remained in the bottle. "But I'm sure Roger would be more than happy to."

Roger, who had been sitting in the same near funk as Jayce suddenly perked up. "Yeah, what do ya say?"

The girl looked at him for a moment. "Sorry, but you're already taken."

Roger was taken aback for a moment. "By who?"

The girl merely pointed at the ring on Roger's left hand. Looking down, he nearly burst into tears as he started laughing. "That's my graduation ring."

"Oh, ok then." she said, standing up from her seat.

As Roger rounded the table, he threw a wink towards Jayce and said very quickly, "Thanks."

"No problem." Jayce replied. "Oh, and tell Naga he shouldn't forget about Gayle just because she's a few thousand kilometers away."

"Will do." Roger said before he and the girl left, leaving Jayce by himself as he had wished to be from the moment he entered the bar.

Leaning back in his chair, he sipped on his fifth beer as he listened to the soldiers nearby retell war stories. He had a few of his own he could tell, but at the moment he was content to just sit back and relax while he listened. That is, until he heard someone stand up and call out in a loud booming voice, "Scourge of Loum, come tell us a story!"

Spinning around, he looked to see who had said that, fully expecting to immediately recognize one of the fellows. He was shocked to see another man, stand up and laugh, swinging a beer as he looked at the man who had called him up.

"Alright, Johnny Boy, if I have to." he said.

He cleared his throat and began his story fairly simply. "As most of you know, the Battle of Loum was the greatest space battle we Zeon have ever had to face. Because of how we did, the Federation was completely crippled in space and we were able to land on Earth. Many aces were born during that battle, the Crimson Lightning, the Black Tri Stars, and the Red Comet to name a few. Well, during that battle, I met my own ace, myself."

Jayce stared in shock as he listened to the man talk.

"I launched out into the battle in my Zaku II. Many people saw it during the battle, I had its shield and helmet painted light blue, I thought it looked cool when I did it. Well, during the battle, I got myself caught up with a bunch of rookies, but I managed to lose most of them before they got in my way. Bagged three Salamis 'cuz of them, I thank them every day for it."

"So how'd you get the name Scourge?" someone asked.

"Glad you asked." the man continued. "They called me that because I took out three Salamis and a Magellan with just my Heat Hawk. I tore them completely in half and just left them there to rot."

"Did you now?" Jayce asked, standing up from his seat and walking over to the others. "That's not how I heard the Scourge got his name."

"Oh, so you've heard of me, eh?" the Scourge asked, amusement spread across his face.

"I've heard of the Scourge," Jayce said, "Seen him too, fought with him too. He was a good man. But he wasn't you."

The Scourge's face fell, and a snarl curled on his lips. "You lying bastard, how dare you say that I'm not the Scourge?! I've seen a hell of a lot more than you have. How do I even know you were at Loum? You could just be one of those boys who try to take all the glory from those who deserve it for all I know."

Jayce merely smiled. "Anybody who fought at Loum never speaks a word of it." he replied. "But I'll give you a chance. What did the crest on the Scourge's shield say?"

The Scourge was taken aback. "The crest?" he laughed. "That's a trick question, there was no crest on his shield." he replied smugly.

"Sweat saves blood, blood saves life, and brains save both." Jayce replied cooly. "Erwin Rommel."

"I'm gonna call bullshit." the Scourge replied, his tone growing sour as he stared at Jayce.

"And I'm gonna call you a liar, and a coward, for stealing the honor and dignity of a great man and using it for your own personal gain." Jayce said, his tone returning to the frigid coldness that mimicked Friedrich's so well, causing a few to shiver around him.

"Why you little, I'll.." the Scourge began, stopping as he thought of something and allowed a smile to spread across his face. "Tell you what, I'll prove that I'm the Scourge. I challenge you to a duel, tomorrow."

"I suppose it'll be at dawn, eh?" Jayce asked dryly.

"Noon. Try not to be too hung over by then." the man said.

"Yeah, yeah." Jayce mumbled. Turning around he made his way to the counter and looked at the bartender for a moment before asking, "Can I borrow your phone?"

"Need a ride home, eh?" the bartender asked, a slight grin on his face.

"That too, but I need to get a hold of somebody else real quick." Jayce replied. Hitting several buttons on the phone after the bartender handed it to him, he waited a few minutes as it transferred lines and finally began to ring, stopping when the person on the other end answered.

"Friedrich? It's Dietrich, I need a favor real quick." he began.

**May 1, 0079  
****New York City, North America**

"He's late." the Scourge muttered as he sat in the cockpit of his MS-06F Zaku II.

The fenced in practice area where he had told Jayce to be at was slowly beginning to fill with gawkers as news of the duel began to circulate throughout the base. Naga, James, and Roger sat atop the hood of the jeep Roger had commandeered the day before waiting just as Jayce had told them that morning to.

"This sucks." Naga muttered as he finished off his eighth bottle of water since he had woken up an hour ago.

"Where the hell is he?" James asked as he scanned the area.

"Dunno, but he better hurry his ass up if he knows what's good for him." Roger muttered.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, it looks like he's a no show, just like I figured." the Scourge called out to the crowd. "I guess the kid got wise and decided maybe it wasn't smart to tangle with the Scourge of Loum."

"Did he just say Scourge of Loum?!" James asked as he stared at the mobile suit.

"Yeah, why?" Naga asked, his eyes half open from the glaring sun.

"Shit. We've gotta stop Jayce before he gets here."

"Why?"

"Too late." Roger said as he pointed.

Turning around, the entire crowd was shocked by the mobile suit they saw slowly making its way towards the Scourge.

Standing just a little taller than the Zaku II, the opposing mobile suit looked almost completely different from the Zaku. With large spikes on its shoulders that hooked towards the head and a large horn in the center of its helmet, the mobile suit bore a closer resemblance to an evil beast than a Zeon mobile suit. Its entire body, which had originally been painted a dark gray, was a bright tan color that almost closely resembled the sand of the desert. Lacking a shoulder shield, it held a large shield in its left hand, the Zeon emblem emblazoned on it in a sky blue color with the words "Sweat saves Blood" on it. In its right hand was a rifle that closely resembled the 120mm Autocannon, but lacked the large drum on top of it.

"What the hell is that?" the Scourge cried out as he laid eyes on it.

"This would be my new baby, the MS-07A Gouf." Jayce replied calmly. "Sorry it took so long, apparently people from the 3rd Division don't know how unload aircrafts quickly. Guess they've gotten lazy as of late, huh?"

"Why you little insect, I'll show you how 'lazy' the 3rd is!" the Scourge yelled.

"This isn't good." James said. "We've got to stop the fight."

"Why? Are you worried Jayce's gotten himself in over his head?" Naga asked. "Because I've seen him get chewed up and spit out. I'm sure he'll be alright."

"I'm not worried about him, you idiot!" James shouted, "If he knows that guy is calling himself the Scourge of Loum, he'll kill him!"

"What?!" Naga cried.

"Come on, 'Scourge,' give me your best shot." Jayce called, lifting the Gouf's left arm and waving it towards the Scourge as if to say 'come on.'

"Oh, shit!" Roger called out.

"Alright, rules are simple, weapons are loaded with paint rounds, first one to hit the other's cockpit with one wins." the Scourge called out.

"They're just using paint rounds, don't worry." Naga tried to reassure him.

"And melee weapons are a strike against the cockpit, inactive, of course." the Scourge continued.

"Shit, let's go!" Naga called.

All three charged towards the mobile suits, hoping to find a way to stop the two pilots before it was too late.

"Hold on!" an MP called, stepping front of the three, "this area's off limit for the duel, you can't go in there."

"Outta the way!" James yelled, "We've gotta stop this."

"Sorry, but we can't let you in." the MP said.

"Too late." Naga muttered as he heard a loud horn that signified the start of the duel.

"Take this!" the Scourge yelled as he let a long burst escape hit autocannon.

Stepping to the side, Jayce swung his shield around to protect his chest from the rounds, which splattered all across it. Raising his own rifle, he fired off several shots which lightly peppered the Zaku, none of them coming close to the cockpit.

"What's Jayce doing? I know he can shoot better than that." Naga muttered as he watched the duel.

"He's toying with him." Roger said as he stared unblinkingly at Jayce's mobile suit.

"Why's he doing that? He can end it right now." Naga asked.

"That guy's pissed him off real good." James muttered, his eyes full of horror. "He's going to wait until he can hit him real hard, and then he's not going to stop."

Firing several more rounds, Jayce could only smile as he heard a loud series of clicks from the Scourge's autocannon, signifying that its magazine was empty. Checking his ammo, he smiled when he saw that he still had a couple round left. Charging forward, he let out a long burst from his assault rifle, not even caring when he ran out of ammo, instead choosing the throw it at the Zaku, knocking it back slightly.

"Oh shit." James muttered, turning to avoid looking as Jayce slammed his Gouf into the Zaku, knocking it flat on the ground.

"Get up." Jayce growled.

"I've never seen him fight like that." Naga said, his eyes wide in amazement. "Not even at Chateau Base."

"I've seen it, a million times before." James said, shaking his head slightly. "DeeDee's back."

"What's with the DeeDee? Jayce won't tell me." Naga asked.

"Back at the Academy, Jayce was always working on the simulated battles, his favorite was mobile battles." Roger began.

They stopped to watch the Scourge bring himself to his feet, pulling out his Heat Hawk and pointing it towards Jayce.

"Let's see how you handle melee combat." he called as he swung towards Jayce.

Swinging his shield down, Jayce caught the strike, holding the Heat Hawk in place with his shield as he drew the large Heat Saber from its holster under the shield.

"He excelled in close combat, in fact, I think he was the best at it."

Bringing the blade down, he smashed it into the Zaku's right arm, which crashed to the ground from the force. Quickly grabbing the dropped Heat Hawk with his left hand, the Scourge began to swing it wildly as he tried to keep Jayce back.

"He spent so much time perfecting his close combat, he really didn't have any free time to make friends."

Jayce merely sidestepped the attacks, pausing every now and then to block one with his shield.

"By the end of his Sophomore year, the only real friends he had was me and James."

A quick stab slowed the Zaku II down as its left knee was pierced directly at the joint. Staggering back slightly, the Zaku slammed its Heat Hawk onto the Gouf's head, only to be blocked by his Saber.

"Everybody else only knew him when they fought against him. They all hated him because he'd always win. Some people even spread rumors about him, real nasty ones."

As the Gouf kept the Heat Hawk over its head, its left arm suddenly smashed into the head of the Zaku II, knocking it back before receiving a kick to its damaged knee.

"He never payed any attention to them, he just kept on training, kept on training. Anytime he'd meet someone who'd badmouth him, he'd just challenge them to a duel and lay them out on the battlefield. It got to the point where he was even topping the Seniors. And that pissed them off enough to where one day, they all ganged up on him and beat the shit outta him."

Sidestepping the Zaku II, the Gouf brought itself around the back of it, slamming the left arm with his saber hard enough to break off most of the armor along the arm, revealing the skeleton-like innards of the arm.

"The next day, he challenged them to a fight in the mobile suits, saying that if they won, he'd leave the Academy for good, and if he won, they would serve him until the end of the year."

Grabbing the head of the Zaku, the Gouf lifted it up into the air before throwing it a good distance in front of him.

"Get up!" Jayce hissed.

"I'm guessing Jayce won?" Naga asked.

"Won is an understatement." James replied. "He completely destroyed them. He fought ten against one. Three of them were hospitalized with life-threatening wounds. Another two couldn't walk again and had to leave the Academy."

Slowly, the Zaku pulled itself up, its damaged arms flailing at its sides.

"I'm not going to lose to the likes of you!" the Scourge screamed as he charged Jayce, his Heat Hawk raised over his head.

"After that, he became known as Demon Dietrich, DeeDee for short."

"Dietrich?"

"Jayce, no!" James screamed as he stared in horror.

As the Zaku brought down his Heat Hawk atop of the Gouf's head again, Jayce slammed his Heat Saber into the Zaku's cockpit with such a force that it pierced completely through the armor, the inertia of the charge enough for the Saber to make its way completely through the Zaku and stick out the other side.

The crowd stared in horror as the Zaku II collapsed where it stood, the blade still pierced through it.

"I know you're still alive." Jayce said coldly, staring down at the Scourge's cockpit. "And I hope you learned something today. Honor those who sacrificed themselves for the greater good. Never use their achievements for your own personal gain. If I ever hear about the Scourge of Loum in North America, don't think I won't hesitate to hunt you down and kill you. Do you understand?"

There was a long pause before a weak "Yes." replied back to him.

"Good. I need a beer, guess you're buying, eh, Scourge?"

----

The sun was just beginning to set as Jayce watched his new mobile suit being loaded up onto the Gau carrier it had arrived on several hours earlier.

"It didn't do all too bad, did it?" he asked Naga before taking a swig from the beer he was holding.

"Not at all." Naga replied as he fished the cooler for another beer for himself. "Still think it's nothing more than a souped up Zaku?"

"Absolutely not. And if you ever call it that again, I'll put your platoon on clean-up duty for the next month." Jayce replied with a laugh.

"Alright, alright, I know not to mess with you, man." Naga said, playfully throwing his hands in the air in surrender. "I have to say though, I've never seen you move like that, not even against Durst."

"Really?" Jayce muttered before taking another sip of his beer. "I thought he was a little harder than Durst."

"Yeah, it truly was amazing, Dietrich."

"Thanks, I..." Jayce trailed off as he stared at his friend.

"You keep a lot of secrets my friend." Naga smiled, giving his friend a wink as he finally gave up searching for a beer in the empty cooler. "But no matter how many you keep from me, I'll still follow you to the very end."

"Thanks." Jayce muttered, eyeing Naga's roaming hand. "Scourge! More beer!"

"Yes, Sir! On the double!" the man who had claimed to be the Scourge called as he dragged out another cooler full of beer and switched it out with the empty one between Jayce and Naga.

"So, I've been meaning to ask you, Jayce, who is the Scourge of Loum." Naga asked as he popped the top off of his beer.

Jayce merely smiled as he finished off the rest of his beer. "I am, or at least, Dietrich was. But that part of me is dead. Still, I can't go around letting just any idiot claim to be the Scourge, it's an insult to everyone who lost their lives on that fateful day."

"I see." Naga said before taking a sip of his beer. "So, how did you get that name?"

Jayce merely smiled. "Beats me. But it sure as hell scared the shit out of the Federation ships that heard about me."

"I see." Naga muttered. "So, are you ever going to tell me what happened at that battle?"

Jayce merely laughed. "Like I said last night, anyone who fought at Loum never speaks a word about it. It's an unwritten law, to honor those who's sweat couldn't save blood, and blood couldn't save lives."

---------------------------------------------------------------

Next time on MSG 0079: No Sympathy for the Sands of Time:

Amidst the blinding desert sands, hundreds of Type-61 stand poised to charge into the Middle East. As Jayce takes command of Civic Company, he is given an ultimatum by his older brother. A new officer joins Civic Company, but threatens to destroy the friendships Jayce has created within it. Will he be able to save the lives of his comrades, or watch the city crumble before him? In the burning ash of a dying city, the Desert Butcher finally awakens. The next chapter of No Sympathy for the Sands of Time: Angel of Death, Angel of Light.

"This cold beast, I've only seen it once before...Is this, is this really me?"

(Just something I wanted to give a try, if I like it enough, I may just start doing it from here on out.)

* * *

Well, I dunno about ya'll, but that took me freakin' forever to write. I'm still not 100 percent peachy with it. While I feel that it's sorta good for character development, I also feel like the story would be just as fine without it. Tell me what you think, if you'd be so kind. This chapter was inspired by a close friend of mine who I've always enjoyed playing Gundam Encounters in Space (and completely owning his ass) that suggested since Jayce was so sensitive about Loum, it seemed odd to just sort of leave it behind after the third chapter, so you can thank him for it. I've also been thinking hard, and I believe after this next chapter I'm going to up the rating to M, so to all of you fans out there, don't get scared if you don't normally see MSG 0079: NSFTSOT (quite a mouthful, eh?) on the Gundam UC. I just get the feeling that I'm going to start making it a bit more violent for reallism and the fact that it's already got coarse language and there'll be some suggestive themes later on, that I don't really care to risk getting yelled out for underating the series. Please stick with it though! The next chapter is going to take a little longer to be put up on here, since I'm going to work on a quick oneshot for Neon Genesis Evangelion, called I Wait Here, so check it out sometime! Thanks! And as always, please read and review. 


	8. Ch 7, Angel of Death, Angel of Light

Well, I'd first like to start off by apologizing for this taking so long. However, I'm sure you'd like to jump right into the story, so I'll save it for the end like I always do. Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 7 - Angel of Death, Angel of Light**

**May 6, 0079  
50 km Southwest of Limah, Saudi Arabia**

"So, this is what the desert is really like, eh?" Naga said as he stared out into the vast sea of sand from his open cockpit.

"'Bout time, eh?" Jayce called as he gave the small fan he had installed inside the cockpit of his Gouf a couple of taps. "Bet you miss those American girls now."

"Naw, Gayle called me about midway through the week and just my luck the girl I was with answered the phone."

"That sucks." Leon called, stifling laughter.

"Yeah, she's still mad at me. I got a video message from her last night. It wasn't pleasant." Naga replied.

"I warned you." Jayce called.

"Warned me, nothing! Shit, you just sat back and drank until the girls around you were too scared to be near you." Naga snapped.

"I'm sorry if the beer was better than the girls." Jayce replied smoothly. "God, this place is hot as hell."

"Yeah, America spoiled the hell outta us." Naga agreed. "What the hell are we doing out here anyways?"

Jayce sighed loudly. "Apparently the 12th got hit by some major Feddie resistance as they were doing patrols around some of the old oil fields. They lost practically two companies in the firefight. We're just here to relieve them and report any Federation forces that we run into."

"Man, screw the 12th, they can't do jack shit out here." Naga muttered.

"Yeah, we've been busting our asses since we landed on this godforsaken rock. All that the 12th's been doing is walking around here enjoying the view, not that there is much of a view, but, you get what I mean." Leon said.

"Enough, enough." Jayce called. "Shut up."

There was a long pause as the three stared off across the long desert wasteland.

"What are we doing here, Jayce?" Naga asked after a minute of silence.

"I already told you why." Jayce replied, leaning outside of his cockpit as he stared at his friend's Zaku II.

"No, I mean why are we here, on Earth?" Naga called.

Jayce laughed. "Why, we're spreading the Zeon culture throughout a forlorn world."

"Jeeze, Jayce, I didn't take you as an idealist." Leon laughed.

"I prefer the term romantic." Jayce called back.

A bright red streak crossed the sky. Jayce watched as it shot over their head and made its way behind them.

"Alright, boys, looks like our present's come home, let's RTB and see what Daddy Zabi decided to bring us." he said as he hopped back into his seat.

**May 6, 0079  
Articia Base, Limah, Saudi Arabia**

Arriving back at the small makeshift base, Jayce and the others arrived just in time to watch as the new mobile suits for Civic Company were unloaded from the Kumosai that had landed not even half an hour ago.

"Whoa, look at that Zaku!" Leon called as he watched a light brown Zaku emerge from the confines of the Kumosai. "That thing's got a better horn than the Captain's Gouf does."

"Hey, no down talking my Gouf." Jayce said, laughing a little as he zoomed in on the new Zaku. "It does look pretty cool though...Alright, let's stop gawking and welcome the new Lieutenant we're supposed to be getting."

"Man, I bet he's so freaking green the Feddies'll be able to spot 'em from a distance." Naga moaned.

"Well then, I guess I'll just have to give him the Civic Company welcome then." Jayce replied, a wide grin on his face.

"I don't think we have time for you to do another 20-K run again." Leon said.

"I was thinking more of the hydration introduction." Jayce replied.

"Oh, yeah, I'm sure we'll all get a kick outta that."

--

With the mobile suits safely deposited inside one of the makeshift hangars, Jayce returned to his office inside of Das Sandmann, the unofficial mobile headquarters of the 11th Mobile Assault Battalion.

"Paperwork." he muttered as he shook his head after seeing the large pile that had developed on his desk. Sliding most of it to the side, he went about trying to find the folder he had received the day before on the new officer. He gave up after searching for it for several minutes, choosing instead to busy himself with arranging the memorabilia he had left there.

In the middle of trying to hang his graduation picture on the wall, he heard a loud knock on the door. "Yes?" he called as he failed to keep the photograph straight on the wall.

"Permission to enter?" the voice at the door asked.

"Yes, yes." Jayce said, his attention focused completely on straightening the picture frame.

Footsteps echoed throughout the room as the guest walked up to his desk.

"Naga, if that's you, give me a hand with this picture, I can't straighten it for shit." Jayce muttered.

"Sorry, Sir, I'm not Naga." the voice replied.

"Sir?" Jayce said, spinning around on his heels, the picture still in his hand. "Who are you?"

Before his desk was a young woman, dressed in the full dress uniform. She stood at attention as she waited for him to tell her to be at ease. "1st Lt. Krissy Aldrine, 2nd Platoon, Civic Company." she replied.

"Relax, we're not all that strict 'round here." Jayce said, raising his hand and waving it as though he were calming her down. "Krissy, eh? You're still pretty fresh from the Academy, if I recall. Graduated at the top of your class, smart enough for them to commission you straight to 1st, right?"

"Yes, sir, that's correct. I did have some experience in space though." she replied.

"Please, call me Jayce." he said. "And give me a hand with this picture, I can't figure out why it won't straighten out."

"You've got the hangar sitting crooked."

"Really?" Looking at the nails set in the wall, he realized that she was indeed correct. One of the nails was slightly higher than the other, making it so that no matter how hard he could try, he would never be able to set it straight. "Thanks. Space, eh? I've got a bit from there too. Where'd you fight? British? Or Loum?"

"Neither, Sir, I wasn't commissioned until a month ago. I did participate in several raids on surviving ships though." she answered.

"Oh, ok." Jayce replied, disappointment clear in his voice. "I didn't know that many managed to survive Loum."

"Many did, Sir."

"I told you, call me Jayce."

"Yes, Si...Jayce."

--

"Have you seen the new Lieutenant from 2nd Platoon?"

"Yeah, but I hear she's already taken."

"Shit, by who?"

"From what I hear, the Captain's already started talking to her."

"That makes sense, she takes his old platoon, so he gets first dibs."

"Is that so?" Lt. Naga said, putting his arms around his old buddies.

"Uh, uh, Lieutenant! We didn't see you there, Sir."

Naga merely laughed as he shook his head. "Hey, I don't like hearing gossip in my platoon, alright?"

"Yes, Sir." Sgt. Jerry Madison replied, looking over to Roger and the others.

"Besides, Jayce doesn't like the ladies." Naga said, eyeing Roger and Jerry with a small twinkle. "So, what's she look like?"

--

"Fluctuation within the right rear axle is causing the slight hesitation during downward thrust. By replacing the hydration pin, it should be able to perform at a 25 increased rate than is originally performing." Jayce muttered as he peered inside the arm joint of his mobile suit.

"Do you always do your own mechanical work?"

Jayce slowly pulled himself out of the small compartment he had climbed himself into and looked down to see Krissy staring up at him. "I like to add my own little touch on occasions." he replied.

"I see, well, mind if I give you a hand?" she asked.

"I think you're a little overdressed for some dirty work like this." he replied, a grin on his face as he stared at her uniform.

"Well, I can fix that easily." she said as she removed her blouse, revealing a small undershirt that greatly accentuated her chest.

"Oh, um, ok." Jayce muttered, his eyes transfixed on her chest. Catching himself, he shook his head and said very quickly, "Come on up."

"So, this is your new mobile suit, huh?" she asked as she walked up the small stairs to him.

"Yeah, it's a MS-07A, codename Gouf." Jayce replied simply, wiping a small grease stain from his cheek. "Got it after my promotion."

"That's what I figured." she replied. "I hear you're one of the most popular officers here."

"Is that so?" Jayce asked as he slid himself back into the compartment.

"Yes. While I was speaking to one of the Lieutenants in Archer Company, he told me that he's been bombarded by transfer requests to your unit."

"I bet he wasn't too thrilled about that." Jayce replied dryly. "Could you pass me that wrench?"

"Actually, from what he said, that was going on throughout all the companies." Krissy replied, sliding the wrench through the compartment to Jayce. "Along with some elements from other battalions."

"Really?" Jayce asked, snapping his head up in surprise and slamming it into a large piece of metal. "Ow!"

"Are you alright?" Krissy asked as she looked into the compartment.

"Yeah, yeah." Jayce replied, rubbing his head. "Hey, could you get that light?"

"This one?" Krissy asked as she picked up a small flashlight and handed it to Jayce.

"Yeah, can you hold it for me? I need both my hands right now."

"Oh, ok."

"So, where are you from?" Jayce asked as he set to work removing the small pin from one of the pumps.

"Cassius City." she replied.

"Oh, I've been there before. They have one of the Academies there, don't they?"

"Yes, Sir, the 8th District."

"Ah, that's a good one from what I hear. Is that where you went?"

"Yes, Sir."

"That's good. I bet you liked being close to home, eh? What did you major in?"

"Engineering, Sir."

"Ah, I tried a little of that myself, but I ended up with a Journalism degree instead. And stop calling me 'Sir,'just call me Jayce."

"Alright, Jayce."

"There." he said as he slid out of the compartment with the pin in hand. "Would you believe this little fucker's the cause of the right arm swinging at a slower response than a normal Zaku II? It's hard to believe if I put in this other one it'll increase the output by practically 50 than it is now?"

"Is that so?" Krissy asked, her eyes locked on his.

"Yep, and if you'll give me a hand, we can get this done and get outta here. Sound good to you?" Jayce asked as he picked up the replacement pin and began to once more climb into the compartment.

"Well, I've been enjoying chatting with you."

"Oh really?" Jayce asked as he shoved himself farther inside to where he needed to be.

"Really. All the other officers have done nothing but flirt with me the whole time. You're the only one who hasn't even tried once yet."

"Really?" Jayce asked as he looked back toward her. "And how do you know this isn't some pathetic attempt of mine to flirt with you?"

"Because you'd probably do a better job of realizing that I've been flirting with you."

--

"So, Naga, have you met that new Corporal in 1st Platoon?" Leon asked as they watched the two new Zakus being loaded up into one of the hangars.

"No. Should I care that I haven't" Naga replied, rolling his eyes slightly as he tried to wipe the sweat from his brow.

"Well, I think you'd get a kick outta it. Oh, there he is now. Oi! New guy!" Leon called as he spotted a young man following behind the mobile suits.

"Yeah?" the young man called back.

"Yeah? Yeah? Fucking hell, I'll kill that little SOB, not even half a day here and he's already forgetting rank structure!" Leon called out as he took several steps forward.

"Leon, stop." Naga said, grabbing his friend's arm.

"That's 'yeah, Staff Sergeant' you little peckerwood! Get your ass over here." Leon yelled at the young man.

Realizing his mistake, the young man made a quick dash over towards them. "Sorry, Staff Sergeant, I didn't know it was you."

"Look alive there, Corporal, you're standing in front of an officer. What do you do?" Leon snapped before stealing a glance at Naga with a small grin on his face.

"Sir." the Corporal said as he snapped to attention.

"At ease, at ease." Naga muttered. "What's your name, Corporal?"

"Cpl. Zeek Vanguard, Sir."

"Vanguard...You serious?" Naga asked, his eyes wide and a grin spread across his face.

"Yes, Sir. Why?"

"Really?"

"Yes, S—"

"Really?"

"Ye—"

"Really, really?'

"Sir, I—"

"Really?"

"Sir!"

"I mean, seriously, come on!"

"Sir..."

"Vanguard?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Really?"

"Sir, I..."

"I mean come on! There's better ones out there! You couldn't get on a computer and find a name

generator or something?"

"Sir, are you done?" Zeek asked, his voice exasperated.

Naga was taken aback for a moment. "I...uh, yeah, yeah I'm done." he said after a short pause.

"Is there anything else you needed?" Zeek asked.

Leon looked over toward Naga before saying in a near whisper, "Um, no, that's about it."

--

"Ladies and Gentlemen of Civic Company, 11th Mobile Assault Battalion, 301st Zeon Desert Expeditionary Brigade, etc., etc. You have been brought here today for the welcoming of our newest members. Please step forward..." Naga said, motioning towards the new recruits.

Civic Company was set out in formation, with Captain Adalin and a large wooden table out front. Atop the table were a dozen or so liter bottles of water.

"Step forward, now!" Jayce snapped.

Six men and women stepped out of the formation, marching toward the front and lining up side by side. They stood at attention while the others behind them remained at ease.

"When you are called, step forward behind the table and line up with a row of bottles." Jayce said sternly, his eyes scanning each of the new soldiers lined in front of him.

"First Platoon, Corporal Zeek Vanguard."

Naga sniggered slightly as he watched the young corporal step forward and walk toward the table, lining up in front of a row of bottles.

"First Platoon, Corporal Niko Kostuk."

Another young man, about the same age as Zeek with a more Eastern Europe influence followed Zeek's example and lined up next to him at the table.

"Second Platoon, Corporal Martzel Esch."

The Frenchman made his way beside the other two.

"Second Platoon, Corporal Ardashir Klein."

A man of Arabic descent repeated the other's movement.

"Third Platoon, the er...lovely Corporal Sonya Novak..."

A woman, if you could call her that, of Ukrainian or Russian descent marched forward and lined herself next to Corporal Klein. He glanced over toward her for a moment, his eyes growing wide when he realized that she was probably just as much, if not more of a hoss than he was. The others in the formation wondered if she could bench press a small car.

"And finally, our newest officer, Second Platoon Commander, 1st Lieutenant Krissy Aldrine."

The lieutenant made her way to the side of the table marked, "Officers Mess," and stood in front of her own row of bottles.

"When given the order, you will pick up a bottle, unscrew the cap, and down the entire contents. Upon completion, you will pick up the next bottle and repeat the process. You will continue to do this until I give you permission to finish. This is for the purpose of having you understand the necessity of hydration in this desert environment." Jayce said. "There is a bucket behind you. You'll figure out what it's for when the time comes."

Naga and the others didn't even try to hide their mocking smiles as the new guys glanced at one another.

"Soldiers, drink!" Jayce called.

At once, the six picked up their bottles, unscrewed them, and started downing their bottles as if they were in a chugging match. Zeek was the first to finish his bottle, and let out a choking cough as he slammed the bottle down before picking up another.

Suddenly, Jayce walked over to Krissy, putting a hand on the table. "Lieutenant, you are excused from this exercise." he said calmly.

"Jayce, what the hell?" Naga called as he watched Lt. Aldrine put her bottle down and stepped back. He walked over to the table. "What the hell are you doing?"

"I do not believe that it is respectable to force a female officer to degrade herself in front of her new troops." Jayce snapped, his voice in a slight hiss.

"I thought half the point of this was to show the equality of our officers and enlisted." Naga snapped back

"This is my decision, and you will not question my authority in front of the company." Jayce replied coldly. "Now get back in formation before I have you take her place."

Naga glared at Jayce, but backed away after a moment, giving a sarcastic bow as he did. "Yes, sir."

Turning back to the new members, Jayce was surprised to see them all staring at him, some with water bottles half-raised. "What the hell are you staring at? Drink until you fucking puke!"

--

"Well, that was certainly different." Naga muttered, glancing out the window.

Several hours had passed since the hydration introduction. Naga and Jayce were sitting in his office aboard Das Sandmann, both chewing on old cigars they had bought from street vendors a few days earlier.

"I think the men enjoyed it." Jayce replied, glancing out the small porthole to watch as Civic Company came jogging by.

"I'm sure the new lieutenant enjoyed it the most." Naga muttered.

Jayce rolled his eyes. "I said it before, I'll say it again, Naga. I do not believe it is—"

"Yeah, yeah, spare me." Naga interrupted with a small wave. "Look, I know you like her and all..."

"Don't be ridiculous, Naga."

"But you can't go showing her any special favors, or the men might start getting suspicious." he continued, ignoring Jayce. "They might start complaining to the higher ups about not only your fraternization but also your obvious display of favoritism toward her."

"Oh, like I don't give you any special favors?"

"That's besides the point." Naga defended. "Everybody knows you're not going to go all that far out of your way for me just because we're chums and everything. But they're not so sure about this new girl. She's different, she's not one of the guys, they don't know what to expect from her just yet, plus there's the whole...you know..." he made a sort of movement as though he were grabbing his own imaginary breasts, "and the whole lack of..." he did a sort of wave over his groin area, "And they don't know how you'll react to all that."

"How about like a fucking officer, just like I did when Dix was still alive, just like I'll act around Novak..."

"I'll believe she's a woman when I see some proof." Naga muttered.

"I am the commanding officer of this company, and I will run this unit as I am expected to." Jayce said sternly. "And I expect my officers to run their platoons as is expected of them. Lt. Aldrine has already been briefed on the importance of hydration in this desert environment, and I expect her to understand just how important that is to the functioning of this unit!"

"I hope you're right, Jayce." Naga muttered, digging his teeth into his unlit cigar, "I really do hope you're right."

**May 7, 0079  
60 km West of Articia Base, Saudi Arabia**

"God, you forget how hot it is out here until you get back out here, huh?" Naga called, his eyes gazing lazily across his screen.

"You know, Naga, with all your bitching and moaning, I'm starting to wonder just why you decided to join a desert unit." Jayce replied, his hand slowly adjusting a knob as he observed the Minovsky interference in the area.

"Honestly? I thought the desert was in like Italy or something."

Jayce stopped for a moment. "Naga, did you ever take geography?"

"Jayce, why would I ever need to learn about the earth? It's not like I'll ever go there some day in a giant robotic tank and blow shit up for a living." Naga replied with a laugh.

"Touche." Jayce muttered. "Leon, how much longer before that antenna's set up?"

Leon's Zaku stood next to a large, misshapen pole, holding it in place as two more Zakus dug lines into the ground to support it.

"Well, if Retard and Don't Know here would hurry up, it would have been done five minutes ago." Leon replied, annoyance very clear in his voice.

"We're digging holes into sand! It's not like normal dirt where it'll hold easily." Cpl. Zeek Vanguard defended.

"I know what sand is." Leon snapped back, "And don't you say a word, Don't Know, because I know what it'll be, that you don't know what the hell you're doing!"

Cpl. Kostuk didn't say a word, merely continuing his digging.

"Somebody needs a break." Naga muttered. "Hey, She-Hulk, switch out with the Staff Sergeant for a bit."

Roger and Jerry sniggered slightly as Cpl. Novak's Zaku I made her way over and took over holding the antenna up.

"So, what's the point of this thing?" Jerry asked, keeping an eye to their south for possible enemies that might pop up from the horizon.

"The antenna'll help extend our communication range. Each company's putting one down somewhere around here." Jayce replied.

"So, um, why isn't a construction battalion doing this?"

"Do you see a construction battalion anywhere nearby?"

There was a slight pause, and Jayce watched as Jerry's mono-eye swerved left and right. "No."

"That's why."

"Where's 2nd Platoon at?"

Jayce pointed toward the west. "Sent them a few miles out to ensure our flanks are protected. Figured I'd give the new lieutenant an easy assignment to get used to our movements and whatnot, let her get a handle on the platoon."

Naga shook his head. "You're not worried she might ruin your old platoon, huh?"

Jayce laughed. "Leon's moved to First, only one still there is Davidson, but I mean, he didn't come around until just before Chateau Base. It's just a number now, I guess. Besides, I've running the company since Durst proved his incompetence way back in Iran."

"Hard to believe it's only been two months, huh?"

"Yeah, feels like a few years." Jayce muttered.

"Somebody's coming from the west!" Roger called.

The two platoons turned to look where he was pointing. Several large shape was moving quickly toward them. Naga and Jayce raised their weapons towards it, the others quickly following suit.

"Any word from 2nd Platoon?" Jayce called.

"Negative, it's too much of a dead zone here." Jerry replied.

"Maybe if somebody could installed the antenna quicker we could have heard from them." Leon muttered to himself.

"Shit, I shouldn't have sent them over the horizon." Jayce said. "Do not open fire until we can identify what's going on.

"Jayce, I'm picking something up now." Jerry called.

"Patch it through." Jayce replied. He flipped a small switch and pressed his hand to his headphone to better hear what was coming through.

"Sand Rat Actual, this is Sand Rat 2-3, do you copy?" the voice called, static buzzing in between each pause.

"This is Sand Rat Actual, what's going on over there, Esch?" Jayce replied.

"It's Sand Rat 2 Actual, something's wrong with her."

Jayce began charging forward, Leon and Naga following closely behind, "Where you ambushed, where is she?"

"Her Zaku's back with Davidson and Klein, but she's here with me. I don't know what happened, she was fine one minute, then she just passed out."

Jayce stopped in front of Esch's Zaku, placing the two cockpits close enough so that he could walk from his to the other. Krissy had been placed in the Frenchman's lap, her legs propped up on one side while his left arm held her up.

"What the hell is she doing in her combat suit?" Jayce said, pulling off her helmet quickly. He looked up, "What are you doing wearing yours?"

"Sir, it's standard pro—"

"It's the fucking desert! Nobody else is wearing them." he felt Krissy's forehead. "Shit, she's seriously dehydrated. We'll have to take her back for a MEDVAC." He picked her up and brought her back to his suit. "Have the others bring her suit back, we're RTB'ing."

--

"You really embarrassed me today." Jayce said, his voice full of disappointment.

"I'm really sorry, Sir." Krissy replied, her eyes glued to the ground.

"Hm." Jayce glanced across the table toward her. "We were forced to pull out from an extremely simple mission in order to bring you back. The Lt. Colonel probably won't let me live that down for awhile. Not to mention, the rest of the company believes I gave you a special favor by not making you participate yesterday."

Krissy didn't look up. "I'm sorry, Sir."

"Don't apologize to me." Jayce replied. "Just don't let it happen again."

"I won't, Sir. I promise."

"I know." Jayce said, a small grin growing on his face. "That's why you're here right now."

Krissy looked up for the first time since she had been called in. The words "Officer Mess" seemed to laugh at her. A dozen water bottles encircled the words, positioned into a smiley face. Across from her, Jayce stood at the other end of the table, another dozen circled around him.

He picked one up, offered her a weak smile, then tilted the bottle in a sort of toast. "Bottoms up."

--

Several hours later, Krissy sat in the wardroom aboard Das Sandmann, reading silently as she sipped a small bottle of orange juice. Her hair was still slightly wet from the shower she had taken earlier to clean up from the hydration introduction.

"Feeling better?" a voice asked, followed by footsteps toward the drink machine.

"It was definitely an experience." she replied, not looking up from her book.

"Yeah, I came up with the hydration thing while me and Jayce were on leave in the Americas. I mean, there's the whole chance of water poisoning or whatever, but I mean, they stop when they puke, so it's not that big a deal." Naga said, sitting himself down on the couch across from her.

"I bet it took a lot of thinking." Krissy muttered, turning the page of her book.

"How many it take?"

Krissy looked up at him, giving him a questioning look.

"How many bottles did it take?"

"I don't think you should be asking a superior officer—"

"Superior my ass." Naga said, leaning back on the couch and propping his feet up. "You're fresh from the Academy, don't even know that you're supposed to drink plenty of fluids because it's hot outside, and I've got much more combat experience than you. The only thing that's superior about you is that the Captain has a thing for you."

Krissy was taken aback for a moment. "Take that back."

"Everybody knows it. That's why he pulled you out of the hydration intro and why he made the entire company return when he found out you had passed out. And that's why he sat there and drank twice as much water as you did after you finished puking your guts out." Naga snapped.

Krissy stared at him in silence, her mouth slightly open.

"Jayce views every failure in this company as his own, no matter how big or small it is." Naga went on, "And because he showed a little bit of favoritism to you, which you took full advantage of and embarrassed the hell outta him for it. So to him, that little stunt you pulled was double his fault than yours."

Krissy didn't said a word for several minutes. Finally, she closed her book and stood up.

"Lieutenant," Naga called as she started to walk away.

"What?"

"This is a pretty close-knit group. You'll figure everything out soon enough."

**May 8, 0079  
Articia Base, Limah, Saudi Arabia**

"Alright, here's the situation." Lt. Colonel Friedrich Neubach said as he looked over the company officers of the 11th Battalion. "At 0800 hours, that's right, twenty minutes ago, 12th Battalion reported that they were under siege by Federation forces is the Saudi capitol of Riyadh. We have been given the honor by General Wesreidau to bail those failures out. "Civic and Dagger Company have drawn the short straw and are going to be the first ones dropped in."

"And who drew these straws?" Captain Garry Richards, commanding officer of Dagger Company, asked.

"That'd be me." Major Davis replied.

"Just wondering, Sir." Captain Richards said, his voice sounding of quiet defeat.

"At any rate, Archer and Baker Company are to be put on standby as reinforcements. Echo and Foxtrot Company will be relieving Civic and Dagger should they require it." Friedrich continued. "But they won't need to, will they?"

"No, Sir." Jayce replied simply, giving Friedrich a knowing look.

"This mission is a take no prisoners operation, so send them running or send them to hell. Dismissed."

**March 8, 0079  
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia**

"Alright, boys, this is gonna be a big one." Jayce called over the comm system. A low roar echoed throughout his mobile suit as the Gau's engines gave full thrust. "Make sure your suits are one hundred percent, otherwise, you shouldn't launch.

"We'll be launching with Dagger Company, that's Richards's company. He's a good man, he'll help you out if you get into trouble and nobody else is around. His unit's callsign is Sand Tiger, try not to forget it."

"Hey, Jayce, I've got a question." Naga called, "How come he's Sand Tiger and we're Sand Rat?"

"Because Colonel Sandman's an asshole." Jayce replied dryly.

"Five minutes until drop." Krissy called.

"We're going to be landing in the Al Amir Abdullah airport." Jayce said. "Be prepared for anti-air fire and Type-61 tanks opening up when we're trying to land."

The jet shook as the rear opened up.

"Sand Rat Actual, launching!" Jayce yelled before his mobile suit was ejected from the Gau. He braced for the G's, but was caught off-guard by the lack of retaliatory fire. Landing safely on the runway, he scanned the area quickly.

"What the hell?"

"Hey, Jayce, did we land in the wrong city, or did we miss the whole the thing?" Naga called as he landed half a kilometer away.

"Hold on a sec." he replied, watching as the others landed across the runway. He flipped a few switches before speaking. "Sandman, this is Sand Rat Actual, do you copy?"

"This is Sandman, come back." Friedrich replied.

"Lt. Colonel, Sir, we've landed in Riyadh, but there's no sign of the enemy anywhere." Jayce said. He motioned for the others with his Gouf's arm to form a perimeter.

"Roger that, standby."

There was a click, and Jayce switched back to company frequency.

"Alright, guys, I don't know what's going on, but just hold tight until I can figure it out." Jayce called.

"Jayce, we're totally exposed out here, we need to find someplace we can secure easier." Naga said, pointing toward a large skyscraper, "I suggest over there."

Jayce nodded. "Agreed. Alright, move your platoons over that ways." He looked up and watched as another group of Gaus dropped Dagger Company north of them.

"You know, I think I've seen that building before." Roger said.

"Doubt it." Jerry replied.

"I swear, I think that's the Kingdom Centre." Roger argued. My old man used to teach me about all sorts of old skyscrapers, he wanted me to go into the architecture business like he did."

"Shut up, you two." Naga warned.

"Jayce, movement up ahead." Leon called.

The others raised their weapon as a lone Zaku I appeared from behind a building.

"Shock!" Jayce yelled.

"Collar..." the pilot responded.

Leon walked forward, checking the Zaku. "It's 12th." he called, spotting the picture of a genie coming out of a bottle on the right corner of the chestplate.

"What's your name, soldier?" Jayce asked.

"Frank, sir."

"What's your rank?"

Corporal, Sir. I just transferred to this unit." His voice was distant, as if he had just seen a ghost.

"Alright, Corporal, where are the others?"

"They're back there." he replied, pointing toward the other side of the skyscraper. "The Federation just pulled back about a minute before you guys all showed up."

"Alright, show us the way." Jayce said. He motioned for the others to move forward, allowing Frank to lead the way. "Sand Tiger, this is Sand Rat Actual, do you copy?"

"This is Sand Tiger, come back, Sand Rat." Richards replied, his voice filled with static.

"We've found a survivor of the 12th, he says that the Feddies have left. We're about to regroup with the remaining forces."

"Roger that, we'll move in on your signal. Give us a few minutes." Richards replied.

"Roger." Jayce said before turning his attention back to the lone Zaku that was leading them toward the large skyscraper. "So, Corporal, how long have you been with the 12th?"

"About a week." Frank replied, "First unit."

"I see. Where you from?"

"Side 3, same as everyone else."

"Alright, smartass, I know you've been through hell, but the least you could do is show some respect to the Captain." Leon snapped, giving the Zaku a small shove.

Frank wasn't expecting this, apparently, and his Zaku I lost its footing before tumbling to the ground. The others stared in silence for a moment as it struggled to stand back up.

"Uh...Leon?" Naga muttered, "Think you could help him back up?"

Leon's Zaku pulled Frank's back up and they continued on their way, though slightly confused over what they had just seen.

Finally, they turned a corner and found a dozen or so Zakus waiting for them next to a recently damaged building.

"Colonel, this is Adalin, I've made contact with the surviving units og the 12th." Jayce said, once more switching frequencies.

"Adalin, come back. Did you just say you made contact with the 12th?" Friedrich asked.

"Roger that. There's probably a company or two here." Jayce replied.

"Adalin, that's not possible."

"What?" Jayce's heart began to beat loudly.

"I'm looking at Colonel Edgars right now. He said that they retreated from the city about an hour ago."

"Shit... It's a trap!" Jayce yelled.

Before the others could react, the 12th Battalion Zakus opened fire on them. Klein wasn't able to dodge the attack quickly enough, 120mm rounds engulfing his mobile suit in a large fireball. The others boosted backwards, splitting up as they tried to fire back on the mobile suits.

Bullets whizzed around Jayce's Gouf as he swung it around a building, listening for a moment as bullets continued to smash into the other side. Shoving the barrel of his assault rifle through the building, he let out a long burst, stopping only when his ammo had run out. Reloading the rifle, he called out to the others, "Regroup into your platoons! Stay together!"

--

Zeek found himself alone. He could hear the explosions going on in the distance from the firefights, but he was lost on how to figure out where anybody else was. He rested his Zaku's back against a large building with a sphere in the middle of it.

Another Zaku rounded the corner.

"Shock!" Zeek yelled.

He was answered by a large burst from the Zaku's 120 mm autocannon. Rounds bounced off his shoulder shield, one landing directly on his autocannon's magazine, causing it to erupt into a fiery explosion. The Zaku stopped its fire, staring at the large plume of smoke for any sign of life. He was answered by a charging Zaku with its heat hawk drawn. It barely had enough time to react before Zeek slammed the heat hawk into its chest.

"Wow, nice job, rookie." a voice said from behind him as he stood over the dead Zaku.

Zeek spun around, swing the heat hawk with him. Leon had just enough time to raise his arm to block it before it slammed into him. "Whoa, whoa! That's no way to treat your Staff Sergeant, is it?"

"Sorry, Staff Sergeant, I didn't mean to..."

"It's alright, rookie, just stick with me. Jayce just told us all to stick together, so we've gotta find Kostuk and then meet back up with the Captain." Leon replied. He waved Zeek over. "Come on, wingman, I need somebody to watch my back."

The two began to slowly make their way back toward the sounds of gunshots.

--

"Roger, I need some covering fire over here!" Naga yelled over the roar of his autocannon.

"I've got my own problems over here!" Roger replied, opening fire on another Zaku that had tried to charge them.

"Novak, how you holding up?" Naga called.

"Bagged my third, Sir!" she replied in an excited tone.

"Alright, that's what I wanna hear. How about you, Jerry?"

"I ran outta ammo a minute ago and have been making gun sounds. It seems to be scaring them off." Jerry replied as if he were speaking about the weather.

"Keep at it, maybe you'll scare one of 'em to death." Naga said in the same tone.

--

"Come on, just like all the sims." Krissy said, her Zaku back-to-back with Esch's.

"There's a difference, Ma'am." Davidson called, his Zaku I firing wildly to keep two Zakus from charging them. "We don't get a chance to do it over with if we fail."

"I know that, Corporal." Krissy snapped. "Klein's dead, I know that. Now let's show these sons a bitches how a Zaku should be used."

"Aye, Ma'am!"

--

The Zaku shuddered as the heat saber stabbed completely through it. The blade had stabbed through what could be considered its throat and cut straight through its chest into the sort of groin area of the mobile suit. Had it been a person, it would have been an extremely painful death.

Jayce pulled away just as the reactor inside of the suit began to erupt, and boosted himself away as it disappeared into a large fireball.

"Captain." Leon called as he and Zeek rounded the corner.

"Good to see you two." Jayce replied, his blade scraping against the ground as he walked over to them. "Where's Kostuk?"

"I dunno, Jayce, we looked everywhere." Leon said, "I don't know if he made it or not."

"Dammit." Jayce muttered. "Richards and Dagger Company have been held up by Type-61s, and reinforcements won't be arriving for another half hour. All units, regroup on me!" the last part he switched to the company frequency to say.

"Roger that." Naga called.

"It may take a few." Krissy called.

"Right, well, form a hasty 180 for the time..." Jayce stopped when he saw a Zaku round the corner behind Leon, its autocannon pointed directly at them. "Leon, look out!"

The Zaku unleashed a long burst from its autocannon, which tore into the back of Leon's Zaku until the backpack erupted into a fireball, shooting flames through the cockpit and bursting the chest plate open.

There was a moment of silence as Leon's Zaku tumbled down, and Jayce has a flashback to Bradford's death in Iran. The world seemed slightly unsteady, and time itself seemed to stop for a second. Something seemed to be growing deep inside of him, then, in the blink of an eye, something snapped inside Jayce. He let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Before the Zaku could react, Jayce slammed his feet on the foot pedal, his thrusters blasting at full, propelling him towards the enemy. He rammed his shoulder spike into it, slamming it into the building behind it. Quickly bringing the two cockpits together, he opened up his and jumped across the console to open the other one. He ducked to the side as a pistol shot cracked into his open cockpit, then leapt inside to deliver a swift punch into the Federation soldier's face. The man reacted quickly, bringing his pistol to bear on Jayce. Before he could pull the trigger, Jayce grabbed the man's hand and twisted it toward the man's stomach. The man screamed as the bullet tore into his stomach. Seeing his chance, Jayce flung the pistol out of the open cockpit and slammed his elbow into the man's throat.

"How did you learn to pilot this?" he screamed at the man as he choked him.

"Screw you!" the Federation soldier choked.

"Tell me!" Jayce spat, shoving a finger into the bullet wound and twisting it.

"You'll have to kill me!" the man screamed, struggling to free himself.

"I can do that." Jayce replied coldly. Pulling his finger out of the bullet wound, he unsnapped the man's safety belt and pulled him head first out of the cockpit. Holding him by the arm and the back of his leg, Jayce flung the man out of the opening and watched him tumble to the ground, smashing his head against the Zaku's kneeplate with a sickening crunch before bouncing to the concrete.

Turning back inside of the Zaku, a thought cam to mind. Before he knew what he was doing, Jayce was sitting in the pilot's seat, flicking switches and pulling levers that he knew we wasn't supposed to do at the same time. Every warning he had ever received on operating the Zaku was disregarded as he reached back and pulled several wires out of the wall along with one or two computer boards. Alarm claxons began to ring as he made his way back into the Gouf.

"Jayce, what the hell's going on?" Naga called as he and the others arrived.

"We're retreating." Jayce replied simply. "Sand Tiger, this is Sand Rat, we're retreating. I suggest your forces do the same."

"Copy that. We're already outside the city, but we're meeting heavy resistance all over. There's gotta be at least two divisions of tanks out here." Richards replied.

"Understood. Tell Friedrich to keep all his forces out." Jayce said. He turned to the others. "Alright, let's get out of here, ASAP. Don't stop to get into a firefight. Just keep running."

"Jayce," Naga called, "Where's Leon?"

Jayce pointed toward Leon's downed mobile suit. "He's dead. Let's go." With that, he boosted away, propelling himself over a block. The others followed behind him, save for Naga who stood staring at Leon's mobile suit in shock.

"God dammit." he muttered, walking over toward the mobile suit. "God dammit."

"Naga, hurry up!" Jayce screamed.

"I'm coming!" Naga called back. He turned to look at the mobile suit one last time. Something caught his eye and he froze. "Leon?!"

--

Naga was the last one to leave the city, meeting up with the others on the northwestern edge of the city in the slightly mountainous edge.

"Jayce," Naga started.

"Naga, shut up for a minute." Jayce replied, his eyes glued on the city.

"But, Jayce, I—"

He was interrupted by a blinding flash and loud explosion as the Zaku Jayce had left behind detonated its Minovsky reactor to create a thermonuclear explosion that engulfed the better half of the city. A mushroom cloud floated into the air.

"Jayce...what the hell did you do?" Naga asked in quiet horror.

"It doesn't matter anymore." Jayce replied. He turned and began to walk away. "We're linking up with Dagger Company in a minute."

"Roger that." Naga said, gazing down at the shape in his lap.

"What the hell was that?" Captain Richards asked as he walked over to the officers.

"One of the Zaku's must have overloaded." Jayce answered, his Gouf's mono-eye still glued to the now ruined city.

"Must have." Richards muttered. "Anyways, we've got a few prisoners over here. Most of those tanks retreated after we took out the command tank, but a few were too damaged and just surrendered. I think we've got a Commander on our hands. Friedrich'll love it."

Jayce looked toward the others. "Naga, keep an eye on the company while I'm gone."

"Uh, Sir, there's something I've gotta tell you." Naga started.

"Save it." Jayce said before following Richards toward Dagger Company.

He was led into another rock formation that bottlenecked into a flat wall of the mountain. Three Zakus were standing guard over about twenty Federation soldiers. Five Zeon soldiers stood guard on the ground, their submachine guns pointed toward the surrendered soldiers. Quickly exiting his Gouf, Jayce and Richards made their way over toward the group.

"So, how do you wanna handle this?" Richards asked. "I think we should wait for the Lt. Colonel to arrive, but for now we can just take their names and ranks and whatnot."

"I'll handle it." Jayce replied.

"Uh, ok." Richards said, confusion spreading across his face.

Without saying another word, Jayce walked over to one of the armed guards, took the rifle and cocked it. "What's the point of guarding somebody with the safety on?" he asked simply. Without waiting for an answer, he pulled up the rifle and opened fire on the prisoners. Everyone stared in utter horror as he executed every one of them, nobody saying a word until the rifle clicked to show that it was empty.

Without saying anything else, Jayce returned the rifle to the man he had taken it from and made his way back to his Gouf.

"Jayce!" Naga yelled as he caught up with him. "You do realize what you just did, right?"

"They can only hang me once for it." Jayce replied dryly. "But they deserve it for killing Leon."

"Jayce, I've been trying to tell you, Leon's still alive." Naga said.

"Wha...What?!" Jayce screamed.

"He's right here. But we need to get him some medical attention quickly." Naga said.

**March 9, 0079  
Articia Base, Limah, Saudi Arabia**

"How you feeling, Leon?" Jayce asked as he sat by his friend's side in the small hospital room.

"Morphine's kicked in pretty well, so I feel like a million bucks." Leon replied in a distant tone. "Be nice if I could scratch my feet though, they're itching like hell."

Jayce glanced down at the lower half of the bed, where the sheets were tightly tucked into the bed where his legs were supposed to be. He looked up to the stumps of Leon's legs started at just above the knee. "You're...uh...joking, right?"

Leon looked Jayce in the eye. "Captain Adalin," he said, his voice extremely serious. "Do you believe in God?"

Jayce didn't know what to say for a moment. "I...believe that God is a sadistic man, but has probably never discovered it."

Leon laughed. "That probably about right."

"Well, at any rate, it looks like you'll get to go home early." Jayce said as he stood up. I've recommended you for the Legion of Merit along with another promotion, so you'll get a nice raise before you get discharged. Girls love medals, so you'll be able to show it off as much as you like."

"Thanks, Jayce. I really mean it." Leon said as he watched his friend leave.

"Write me." Jayce called before he left.

Naga was waiting for him as he left the medical ward. "How is he?" he asked as they began to walk away.

"Morphine's keeping him happy, but I'm worried about when he gets discharged." Jayce replied.

"The guy lost both his legs and an arm. He's gonna need a lot of therapy just to keep from killing himself, provided he found a way to do that with just one arm..." Naga muttered.

"I told him to keep in touch, to write everyone. Hopefully, that'll keep some bit of him from doing anything irrational." The two paused for a moment as they opened the front door and walked out.

"Jayce, you do realize that what you did yesterday was wrong, right?" Naga said after a minute.

"I know, Naga. I committed a war crime, and I'll probably end up being hung for it or something." Jayce replied. "But I'll deal with that when the time comes. But until then, we're just going to act like nothing happened, alright?"

"Alright, Jayce, if that's what you think is right." Naga muttered. "I'll go talk to the others about it."

Jayce watched his friend walk off, but stopped when Naga called back to him.

"You know, Jayce, we never found Kostuk. He could have still been alive before the blast. Might have been injured like Leon was. Just think about that next time before you try to leave a man behind."

He didn't say a word as he turned and made his way over toward Das Sandmann. Friedrich was waiting for him in his office. He didn't look up when the captain entered.

"How's Leon?" Friedrich asked, his eyes glued on Jayce's graduation picture on the wall, still slightly crooked.

"He's a permanent cripple." Jayce replied harshly. "And his commanding officer is a war criminal. Thanks for asking."

"War criminal?" Friedrich sneered as he spoke. "Who says you're a war criminal?"

"Friedrich, I detonated a Minovsky reactor in the middle of a city, killing millions of people. I broke the Antarctic Treaty!" Jayce snapped.

"Minovsky reactors weren't included in the treaty." Friedrich replied, his voice as cold as always. "Besides, little brother, how was that any different than what you did during British?"

"Why you son of a bitch!" Jayce yelled before charging his brother.

Friedrich didn't take his eyes away from the picture as he swung a quick punch, knocking Jayce onto the floor.

"Dietrich, you're so easy to predict." Friedrich muttered, finally taking his eyes off the photo and looking down at his brother. "I've already taken care of everything. That reactor erupted because of Federation tampering, forcing your company and Richards to escape before it detonated. As for those prisoners you executed, which was breaking the Antarctic Treaty I might add, you were just following orders."

"What?"

"I said this was a take no prisoners mission. Richards has been rebuked for forcing you into the situation, and is facing a board of review for his actions which resulted in the death of those prisoners. Everyone in his unit has been informed that any word otherwise will result in a court marshal for mutiny." Friedrich said simply.

"You don't have to look out for me, Friedrich." Jayce muttered.

"But I do, little brother." Friedrich replied. "You're such a little troublemaker, it's hard to believe that you've pledged yourself to me. I've grown increasingly tired of having to constantly pull strings just to keep you in line."

"Well, maybe if you'd just let me live my own life, you wouldn't have to work so hard."

The fist caught him on the side of the cheek, and Jayce was sent tumbling to the ground once again.

"Why you insolent little worm!" Friedrich said, his fist still hanging in midair. "Don't you realize that I own you?! I am the only person you will obey, and you will obey my every order!" He stepped on Jayce's neck, slowly chocking his younger brother. "Don't you realize that you're more expendable to me than Durst was, and that I could cover up your death a lot easier after that little show you put on today? All I have to do is press a little harder, and if anyone asked, I'd say I was carrying out your death sentence myself!" He pressed a bit harder, just to show that he was dominate.

Jayce struggled to breath, consciousness slowly fading away. "I...I'm sorry... Brother... Please... forgive me..." he managed to wheeze.

Friedrich smiled as he watched Jayce's face start to change color. "Of course I forgive you, Dietrich. However, you have to learn a little bit of respect. And you will, just like every other time."

Jayce's eyes grew wide. "Please...No!"

--

A small crowd had gathered to see Leon off, mostly the members of Civic Company, and a few of the officers from Dagger and Archer. As they watched, he was loaded aboard a small transport plane. He smiled and waved with his only good arm, and gave a parting salute to Friedrich.

Jayce watched from atop the Das Sandmann's rear cannon.

"Sad to see your friend off?" a voice asked behind him.

"He's been my wingman since we landed." Jayce muttered, not looking up when Krissy sat down beside him. "Now he's nothing more than a cripple. They would have kept him around for desk work, but they're worried about his mindframe now, which is smart considering they're just going to through him out on the street when their done pumping him full of drugs." He looked over toward her.

"He'll be fine, I'm sure." Krissy replied. "I mean, he's still got family up there, right?"

"Somewhere, I'm sure."

Jayce didn't move when he felt Krissy's hand touch his, but looked at her for a moment when she wrapped her fingers around his.

"He'll be fine." she said, pulling him to his feet. "Come on, let's go watch the sunset, I missed it yesterday. I hear they're really amazing!"

"Yeah, sure." Jayce said, pausing to glance one last time at the group watching Leon's plane fly off. He felt his blood run cold when he locked eyes with Friedrich, and he instinctively grabbed his wrist.

"Come on, don't make me wait." Krissy called as she climbed off the cannon.

"Coming." Jayce replied, his voice in a near whisper, his eyes still locked on Friedrich. He watched as the Colonel smiled at him and tapped his collar insignia, showing his promotion to full Colonel. He nodded with his chin toward Krissy, as if to say "Go on."

Looking away from his brother, he followed after Krissy a forced smile on his face. "Wait up." he called.

--

(Gonna give this one last try.)

Next time on MSG 0079: No Sympathy for the Sands of Time:

A month has passed since Riyadh disappeared under the blinding light, and the Federation stands poised to take back Baghdad. As a journalist arrives to cover the 11th's exploits, Jayce's crimes are threatened to be revealed. Can he save his friends, his secrets, and the city he has sworn to protect, or will he once more become the Desert Butcher? In the city of Babylon, one man will change the course of the war for countless others. The next chapter of No Sympathy for the Sands of Time: Where Beasts Dare.

"Sometimes, little brother, emotions are best kept off the battlefield."

* * *

Whew! That took pretty long to write. Like I said above, I apologize for making you wait about a year, but I just sort of lost track of things, plus I got knocked off schedule with my one shot, then Christmas, and the mess duty along with being squad leader. At any rate, I'm back, so I'm going to do my best to get a new chapter up every other week or so, mainly because I really wanna finish this. At any rate, I've got to get back into the swing of working this thing, so don't be surprised if this chapter changes slightly over the next few weeks. As always, please read and review.


	9. Ch 8, Where Beasts Dare

I do not own the songs mentioned in this story, even though that'd be awesome.

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Chapter 8 - Where Beasts Dare

**June 13, 0079  
Baghdad, Iraq**

"Conrad, enemy unit bearing 4-3-2, take 'em out."

"Roger that."

There was a moment's pause before a loud roar echoed throughout the darkening sky. A single round soared across the grasslands until it rammed itself just under the double barrels of the Type-61 tank.

"Direct hit! That's what I'm talking about!"

"Great job, Barracuda." Captain Jayce Adalin called, his Gouf landing beside the Magella Attack. "I think that's the last of them for now." He watched through the night vision as the burning remains of Type-61s glowed in the distance.

"Jayce," Lieutenant Naga Mitsuharu called, landing beside him, "Colonel Neubach's calling all forces back to the main perimeter. He's declared all enemy forces have been eliminated."

"Roger that, where's 2nd Platoon?" Jayce asked.

"One of the Mag-At's got hit, Krissy and Davidson are trying to pull out the survivors." Naga replied.

Jayce nodded. "Go ahead and send our boys back. You too, Barracuda."

"Roger that, Sir." the Magella Attack crew replied, the tank slowly moving backwards toward the airport.

"What are you looking at, Jayce?" Naga asked, looking out toward where Jayce was looking.

"They sent another one."

"Another one? Where?"

Jayce's Gouf pointed toward a small group of burning tanks. A lone Zaku I sat with its legs out forward and its hands in its lap. A lone hole was cut into its stomach, more than likely from a 280mm bazooka round.

"Where do they keep getting them from?" Naga asked.

"Who knows." Jayce replied, turning around to make his way back to the base. "There's a rumor going around that the Feddies found an entire division's worth of mobile suits crash landed in Africa, most of the pilots either didn't survive the landing, or died soon after. There's another one that they've been buying them."

"Buying them? From who?"

"Foreign Legion units, a couple of them have turned out to be sleeper cells, Federation spies and whatnot."

"Jesus Christ, Jayce, where'd you hear that from?" Naga asked, his mono-eye swinging toward his friend as they walked.

"Here and there. It's nothing more than scuttlebutt." Jayce replied.

"Yeah, but, that's not something I'd like to have spread around if I were you."

"The only person I've mentioned it to is you. Nobody else seems to care all that much about my opinions on it." Jayce replied.

**June 13, 0079  
Hangar 17, Baghdad, Iraq**

"Fine work, Civic Company!" Jayce said as he exited his Gouf. "We showed them not to mess with Zeon!"

"Hell, yeah!" the others replied, meeting him in the center of the hangar.

"Krissy, Nate, who's Mag At got hit?" he asked, turning toward the two.

"Magic Fingers took a hit in its treads, but it's fine otherwise." Lt. Krissy Aldrine replied in her usual post-battle bubbly personality.

"Are Guy and Charlotte alright?"

"Charlotte's got a minor concussion, but otherwise they're fine." Krissy answered.

"Good, good." Jayce said. "Okay, boys and girls, I think it's time to hit the Oasis, how about you?"

**June 13, 0079  
The Oasis, Baghdad, Iraq**

The Oasis was probably the only bar in Baghdad that served Zeon soldiers. Situated about two kilometers east of the airport, it was considered by most to be more along the outskirts than within the city. Ran by a man named Rauf al Mus'ad, more affectionately known as Big Al by the 11th Battalion, it was probably the only friendly place in the city.

"Al, a round for Civic Company." Jayce called as he entered the doorway.

"Sure thing, Captain." Al replied in his heavily accented voice.

The others followed Jayce inside, quickly gathering in their usual corner booths.

"Very noisy today, eh, Captain?" Al said as he dropped off a round of drinks.

"Nothing more than the usual, I suppose." Jayce replied.

"But you won, at the very least."

"Al, sometimes I wonder how you can sit hear and treat us like your friends when we're fighting against your own men." Naga muttered. Jayce threw a glare at him.

Al merely shrugged. "This country has a long history of owners. I have to make a living somehow."

"Makes sense." Naga muttered. "Hey, rookie, I know you're not trying to sneak a drink." he said, grabbing the beer from Zeek's hand.

"Aw, come on, Lieutenant!" Corporal Zeek Vanguard protested.

"Battalion tradition." Naga replied. "Youngest in each platoon is DD. Ain't that right, Jayce?"

"'Fraid so." he said, taking a sip from his own drink. "Nate and Jerry have to do it too, so try not to rub it into their face so much, would you?"

"Three fucking days!" Sgt. Jerry Madison complained. "Roger, you are sooo lucky."

"Should've been more stubborn like me." Sgt. Roger Salim replied, grinning as he drank his own beer.

"Nate doesn't seem to be complaining all that much." Krissy said, pointing over toward Cpl. Davidson as he flirted with a girl from Archer Company. She nudged Jayce slightly, then rested her hand atop his under the table.

"So, Jayce, any word from Leon?" Naga asked, his eyes quickly glancing between Jayce and Krissy.

"Uh, yeah." Jayce said, reaching into his new desert field blouse and pulling out a letter. "It's a bit messy, given that he's a lefty and all he's got is his right." he said as he unfolded it. "Let's see... They're still pumping him full of morphine every now and then, but they're trying to wean him off of it so that he doesn't become an addict, which he doesn't like."

The others laughed at this comment.

"He says that they're going to try to get him some prosthetics, but there's a long waiting list for them. He's been placed next to two guys who fought at Loum, and another one who got injured during some recent space battle. Says he's seen some folk s that got it worse than he did."

"Damn, they must be pretty messed up then." Cpl. Martzel Esch muttered.

"He goes on to say, however, that his nurse is extremely attractive and seemed to enjoy congratulating him on his nice new medal, which I commended for him, might I add."

"And he deserved it, too." Naga said, giving a sort of toast with his bottle.

"Here, here."

"Anyways," Jayce muttered, tilting his cap so that he could see better, "He basically goes on to say that he misses everyone and that he hopes that we're doing well. And he says that he calls the next round when we're done conquering the world."

The others nodded silently.

"Well, here's to the Staff Sergeant getting into that nurses panties." Naga said, holding up his bottle in a toast.

"Here, here." all the men replied, laughing as the women among them glared or rolled their eyes.

"Captain Adalin, Sir?" a new voice asked from the end of the table.

"Yes, uh...Private?" Jayce replied, looking up at the man standing in front of them.

"Colonel Neubach requests your presence immediately, provided that you are sober enough to function...presently." the man replied as if he were reading from a card.

Jayce sighed. "Alright, guess I'll go see him before I get too involved here." He slid his hand away from Krissy and tapped Zeek on the back of his head. "Time to get to work, Rookie."

"Hey, I'm a designated driver, not a chauffeur." Zeek protested, setting his water on the table.

"Isn't that the same thing?" Naga called as he watched the two leave. "It is, isn't it?" he asked Jerry after they had disappeared.

"Ya, it is." Jerry replied simply, finishing his beer.

**June 13, 0079  
Das Sandmann, Baghdad, Iraq**

"Wait out here." Jayce muttered as he stood in front of Colonel Friedrich Neubach's office door.

"Yeah, yeah." Zeek muttered, making his way outside, a pack of cigarettes in hand.

"You rang, Friedrich?" Jayce called as he entered.

"Little Dietrich," Friedrich replied from beside his filing cabinet, "I think you're the only one in this entire battalion that wears his new uniform with the sleeves down. Of course," he walked over and grabbed Jayce's wrist, pulling the sleeve down, "nobody else in this battalion has a pretty little brand like you do. Ooo, it came out better than the others."

Jayce glanced over at the burn on his wrist. Two capitol letters written in a Gothic style, a G and D, sat superimposed on one another. He thought about the other two brands, one on the back of his left thigh, the other on his right hip.

"You should wear it in front of the others." Friedrich said, letting go of his wrist. "Show off a little bit of your heritage."

"People might ask what kind of sadist I let do this." Jayce muttered, covering the mark with his sleeve again.

"Grandpapa would turn over in his grave with that sort of disrespect toward his own unit." Friedrich replied as he made his way over to his desk.

"Yeah, well, he died during the War, back when this had some sort of respect." Jayce muttered again.

"Speaking of respect, I see you found time between the raids to have your cuff title sewn on." Friedrich said without looking up.

Unconsciously touching his left sleeve, he glanced down at his arm. A small beige band wrapped around two thin white braids, inside the braids on an olive background, "Sandman" written in a bold mix of white and olive thread was displayed on the sleeve in between his elbow and his wrist.

"We managed to find a tailor during the breaks." Jayce muttered.

"Well, we're doing our best to keep an eye on the Federation forces." Friedrich replied. "But they're moving under the cover of darkness, and hiding during the day. Then the next day they're moving during the day and hiding during the night. We don't have the manpower to keep a 24-hour lookout, even with the new inclusion of our new units."

"I don't like all these new units." Jayce said, "How are we supposed to be a fast attack unit if we're held up by the Mag Ats and infantry that can't keep up with the mobile suit's speed?"

"Our role has changed in this war." Friedrich replied, "We're no longer a blitzkrieg unit. We've been transferred to the role of occupiers."

"I don't like waiting around to be attacked. Eventually, they'll wear us down enough to win."

"We're in a stalemate, that's just how it works."

"Yeah, well, I like the idea about as much as I like Feddies running around in Zakus."

Friedrich stood up from his seat and walked over to the porthole. "Nobody likes that. Garma Zabi himself has taken a personal interest in that matter." he said simply, gazing out into the dark abyss of the night sky.

"You don't actually believe he'll do anything about it, do you?" Jayce sneered.

"Him personally? No, but he'll certainly stir a fire under our intelligence units around here into doing something about it. But, that's not why I asked you to come here." the Colonel answered, turning and walking back to his desk. "I've got a little present for you." He reached into his desk and tossed a thin piece of crumbled up cloth to Jayce.

The ball of cloth hit Jayce in the face, causing him to blink as it floated into his hand. "Didn't we already talk about my cuff title?" he asked in half amusement, his hand closing around the piece of cloth.

"Take a look at it, moron." Friedrich answered, turning to look at a picture on the wall.

Jayce looked down and read the title. "Who the hell are the Desert Knights?"

"The 'Desert Knight' is you." Friedrich replied, not looking at his brother.

"I don't understand."

"It's your ace title. Apparently General Wesreidau thinks you're the great Zeon crusader of the desert." Jayce didn't see it, but Friedrich rolled his eyes as he said this. "He's been saying you're the great poster child of the war in the Middle East."

"And why is he saying this?"

"Well, besides your excellent record of leadership and enemy kills, I believe it's so the other generals'll forget that he likes little girls." Friedrich said the last part as uninterested as he would have if he were speaking about the history of wood. "At any rate, you'll need that sewn on before noon tomorrow."

"And why's that?"

"Because there's a journalist arriving tomorrow to interview you."

"Why?"

"It's some sort of propaganda article, the Aces Across the World, sort of thing. You're either supposed to be Africa's ace, or Asia's, I don't remember which one the idiot said."

"How long's he going to be doing this?"

Friedrich shrugged. "A few days, a month, how the hell should I know? However long it takes for him to find out what he wants to know."

"So I gotta babysit some civilian for god knows how long until he says he's done?" Jayce complained.

"Basically." Friedrich replied grimly, "And it'll do you good to remember to behave yourself. Remember, he reports to the Zabis, so you can't go killing him off like Durst, or Riyadh."

"I thought we weren't going to mention that again." Jayce said, his hands tightening into fists

"We're not," Friedrich said, turning back to face his brother, "provided you keep you mouth shut and don't bring up any of your anti-Zabi remarks in front of him. I don't know about you, but I enjoy maintaining my reputation in front of my nation's leaders. Of course, unlike you, I actually support the Zabis."

"Grandpapa didn't worry about his reputation, he worried about what was right for the people. That's why he participated in Val—

"Don't even get me started on that!" Friedrich snapped. "He was misguided during the end of his life. You would too if you'd been hit in the skull by shrapnel."

"Whatever." Jayce replied, turning to leave. "No matter what you think, you're not his reincarnation."

"GET OUT!"

Jayce closed the door as loudly as he could when he left, cutting sharply around the corner and meeting Zeek just outside.

"We ready to go?" Zeek asked, snubbing out his cigarette.

"Yeah," Jayce muttered, visibly shaken, "Come on, I'll buy you a drink."

"What about battalion tradition?"

"Eh," Jayce said, hopping into the passenger seat of the jeep. "I don't feel like drinking all that much anymore."

**June 14, 0079  
Hangar 17, Baghdad, Iraq**

Jayce was probably the only member of Civic Company in full uniform as they sat inside Hangar 17, a deck of cards scattered between the pilots of 2nd Platoon and the tankers from 3rd. Most of 1st Platoon were going over repairs with the Zakus and Magella Attacks, while the pilots of 3rd Platoon discussed fire and maneuver strategies with Naga.

"You can relax, Jayce, it's only a journalist." a voice said loudly behind him, followed by a large hand slapping him on the shoulder.

"I know, Mark." Jayce said, a smile growing on his face.

Gunnery Sgt. Mark Agnate stared over Jayce's shoulder, following Jayce's gaze toward the sky.

"You know, Dietrich," he said, his voice dropping as he spoke, "your father says you don't write home often enough. He didn't even know you'd been promoted to captain, let alone that you were being given an ace title."

Jayce huffed loudly. "I write Ann Louis every week." he said defensively.

"Ann Louis is at a boarding school in Von Braun and your father works six days a week in Zum City at Zimmad. The two talk less than you and your father." Mark said.

"She's more family to me than he'll ever be." Jayce muttered.

Mark merely shook his head. "I've never understood you, Dietrich."

"You're my godfather." Jayce said simply, "You're not supposed to understand me."

A crimson streak came into view across the sky, catching both Jayce and Mark's attention.

"There he is, and a mobile suit for you, finally." Jayce muttered, his eyes glued on the streak.

"I think I'll stick with the Magella," Mark replied, "It just seems more comfortable to me."

"It's a useless deathtrap, even more so than the 61's."

"That may be so, but it's comfy to me." Mark replied, pushing Jayce forward. "Go have fun with your reporter."

**June 14, 0079  
Hangar 17, Baghdad, Iraq**

"I'm Captain Jayce Adalin. And you are..."

"Call me Duke." the man replied.

Jayce couldn't help it when his eyebrow raised and he looked the man up and down. The man was dressed in an Aloha shirt, a pair of Bermuda shorts, yellow tinted aviator sunglasses that only barely hid bloodshot eyes, a pair of knee-high socks with white tennis shoes, and a bucket hat to top it all off. A cigarette holder held a partially broken cigarette kept firmly in his mouth. An opened beer was in his free hand, his other holding a laptop with dozens of bumper stickers and dents covering it.

"So you're the Desert Knight, eh?" Duke said, eyeing Jayce for a moment. "Guess you'll do."

"Do?"

Duke handed him the beer so that he could pick up the camera dangling around his neck and snapped several pictures of Jayce holding the beer with a confused look on his face.

"Now let's have a look at your mobile suit." Duke muttered, taking back the beer and downing the rest. Tossing it behind him, he led Jayce inside the hangar and looked around, waiting for Jayce to point it out.

"Er, that one over there." Jayce said after a moment, pointing toward his Gouf.

"That one, eh?" Duke muttered, snapping several pictures. "Decided against the whole custom paint job, huh?"

"Well, it didn't seem tactically productive..."

"Good man, don't need all that pretty hoobla joobla the others ones do." Duke began walking closer, making his way to the stairwell to get a better look. "Wouldn't believe a couple of the ones I saw, red, blue, goddamn Tri-Stars with their black and purples, a dazzler, white one with a wolf, hell, have you seen Dozle's Zaku? Thing looks like a great big bull's-eye, 'look at me, I'm the great king of space, come shoot me!' Ya know?"

"Uh, yeah, sure." Jayce said uneasily.

"So I guess you're wanting to get this over with so you can get rid of me, huh?" Duke muttered as he returned.

"Yeah, the thought had come to mind."

"Well then," Duke continued, "Guess we better get started with it then." He walked over to a nearby table and tossed his laptop casually on it, watching it bounce a few times before opening it. He reached into his bag, which he had set down earlier and pulled out another beer, popping it open as he began typing with his free hand. "Tell me about yourself."

"Like what?"

"The usual bourgeoisie bullshit that the public loves to read but not think twice about." Duke replied casually, taking a sip from his drink.

"Uh, well..."

"Alright, we'll start with something simple." Duke muttered, typing quickly on the keypad, "like what's your full name?"

"Oh..." Jayce mumbled, feeling like a complete moron. He glanced over towards the others who were all looking back at him in interest.

"Good luck trying to get more out of him than his name, rank, and serial number." Naga said, coming over and sitting next to Jayce. He gave the universal signal for 'Pass me a beer' to Duke, and was extremely pleased when he was tossed one. "I've been asking him since we landed, and I'll tell ya, he doesn't talk all that much about himself."

"What's there to talk about?" Jayce mumbled under his breath.

Duke let a smile cross his lips as he stared at Naga. "And who are you?" he asked in the same mumbling tone he'd spoken in since his arrival.

"I'm Lieutenant Naga Mitsuharu, the only officer in 11th Battalion that'll probably never be promoted." Naga said with a laugh.

"And why's that?" Duke asked, his free hand dashing across the keypad, his eyes not once glancing at the screen.

"I hit on Kycilia one time in a bar, didn't know who she was. Never forgave me. She's had me blacklisted since then."

"Naga, has anyone ever told you that you're a horrible liar?" Jayce asked.

"Swear to God!" Naga said, making the sign of the cross on his heart.

"Yeah, yeah."

"Right, quite interesting." Duke muttered, his voice showing that he couldn't care less. "Captain, if you wouldn't mind?"

"Hmm?"

"Name, rank, all that other stuff."

"Captain Jayce Dietrich Adalin."

"Family name?"

"Dietrich is."

"And where's your family from?"

"Germany and France, Alsatian mostly."

"I meant which colony."

"Oh," Jayce said, playing with his goggle he had placed on his cap. "La fontant Colony, but we're all spread out now."

"I see." Duke said, his eyes still locked on Jayce and Naga. He paused his typing to ash his cigarette and take a sip from his beer. "Where are they now?"

"Well, my parents live in Zum City now, my father works for Zimmad..."

"What does he do?"

"I've no idea."

"Yes, yes, it's all hush hush I'm sure." Duke waved it off. "Continue."

"Yeah, well, my mother stays at home and does all that housework stuff they do."

"I'm sure. Are the Adalin's part of the Zabi Aristocracy?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Are you part of the newly created aristocracy established by the empowerment of the Zabi family?" Duke replied.

"Well, I mean, my family has a history of nobility and all, but it's more just the traditional sense, I mean, I never went to huge balls or banquets or anything."

"I see." Duke said in an uninterested tone. "What about siblings. Brothers, sisters?"

"Um, my brother Richard died just before British." Jayce said.

"Sorry." Duke said, sounding not in the least bit apologetic. "That it?"

"My sister Ann Louis lives in Von Braun, she's got a musical scholarship at the School of Arts."

"What does she do?"

"She sings." Naga butted in, "Pretty good too."

"Really?" Duke said, raising an eyebrow. "Got any of her music?"

"Yeah, I keep it on my all the time." Jayce said sarcastically.

"I've got some of her music." Naga said, walking over to his books and pulling out a small disc.

"Where'd you get that from?" Jayce asked, staring at the disc as Naga came back.

Naga shrugged, "From your desk one day, I thought I asked you if I could take it. She's got a nice voice." He handed the disk to Duke who slid it into his laptop.

There was a slight pause as the disk began running, then a slow tune began to emerge. What sounded like an accordion began to play, then a young voice began to sing.

"_Vor der Kaserne vor dem grossen Tor_

_Stand eine Laterne, und stebt noch davor,_

_So wolln wir uns da wiedersehn_

_Bei der Laterne wolln wir stehn,_

_Wie einst Lili Marleen, wie einst Lili Marleen."_

"Lovely." Duke said, cutting the music off and ejecting the disk. "Bet she'll do well. But we're not here to talk about her are we? No! We're here to talk about you, because you're the focus of this story." As he spoke, he ashed his cigarette again, then pulled it out and tossed it, much to the protest of Jayce and Naga given that there were thousands of flammable items within the hangar, then proceeded to pull another one out of his pocket and light it without missing a beat. "Let's talk about your combat record. Battles?"

"British, Loum, initial drops into Iran, helped capture this beauty," Jayce said, numbering each off his fingers and then waving his hand toward the base. "Chateau Base, and a few areas in the Saudis."

"Part of that little disaster in Riyadh?" Duke asked, a twisted grin on his face.

"Riyadh?" Jayce asked, his face betraying his shock.

"Didn't think people actually knew what happened there?" Duke muttered, raising his eyebrows. "It's not often when a mobile suit's reactor destroys an entire city, makes big news, or it would have, provided the Zabi's didn't cover it up."

"How do you know about it?" Naga asked. He winced slightly as Jayce elbowed him.

Duke merely smiled. "I've got thousands of sources here and there. Of course, there's no chance of it being made public anytime soon, the Zabis don't want the public scared that another one's going to suddenly detonate anywhere nearby, god forbid in a colony."

Jayce and Naga glanced quickly at one another, then turned back to Duke before he could notice.

"Any awards so far?"

"Wounded Heart, twice, a British ribbon, and a Distinguished Service Cross."

"I didn't know you had a D.S. Cross." Naga said, looking at Jayce with wide eyes.

"You also didn't know I was half French either." Jayce replied.

A long air raid siren cut off the rest of their conversation. Everyone in the hangar save for Duke shot to their feet and began running to their respective mobile suits.

"1st Platoon, finish whatever you're doing and move out!" Jayce called as he saw Zeek slide out from under his Zaku's leg skirt. He quickly ran up the stairs and hopped into his cockpit. "Talk to me." he said as he slid his headset on.

"_Two companies of Type-61s and infantry." _Major Davis replied.

A loud eruption emerged from beside the runway as Das Sandmann let off a volley from its cannons.

"_They snuck in on us, used the heat to avoid our IR radars and sonar thought it was a flock of sheep or something."_ Davis continued.

"How far?" Jayce asked, listening to the comfortable hum as the Gouf's reactor came to life.

"_Ten kilometers south of your current position."_ There was a pause, the Davis added, _"Scratch that, four companies, plus two Zakus, shit, these IFFs are from Russia!"_

"Zakus from Russia?" Jayce muttered. He began maneuvering the Gouf outside the hangar.

"_If you hurry, you can catch them at the Living Square."_

"Roger that." Jayce said. He turned to the others following behind him. "Alright, boys, move it or lose it!" He looked down at Duke as he passed. "Guess a raincheck's in order?"

"Righty-o!" Duke called, toasting him with a freshly opened beer. He watched as the mobile suits quickly filed out of the hangar, Magella Attacks following closely from their own hangar. He quickly downed the beer and stood up, stretching slightly before tossing the can over his shoulder. Walking out, he casually made his way toward the mobile suits, his camera in hand. "Let's get a look at how he does." he muttered. He quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out a small rectangular device. "Don't wanna miss the conversation, either." he said as he put a small earphone in his ear and flipped a small dial.

"_So, Jayce, how much of that did you pull out of your ass?"_

"_You'll never know."_

Duke smiled as he watched the mobile suits launch into the air and disappear from sight. "Curious indeed."

**June 14, 0079  
Southern Baghdad, Iraq**

The Living Square was the nickname given to a small neighborhood south of the airport . There was no other residential areas located anywhere nearby, and the neighborhood's existence was a mystery to most of the soldiers stationed in Baghdad. A long riverbed had been dug as a pathway to the Living Square, branching off in multiple directions like the roads that were built beside them.

"Davis, check your radar again!" Jayce screamed as a 280mm bazooka round slammed fifty meters in front of him, sending dirt and debris hundreds of feet into the air.

"_Consider yourself lucky we're detecting anything at all."_ Davis replied. _"The Minovsky radiation is too strong down there, we're losing sight of you and the others."_

A Magella Attack streamed past him, slowing down only enough to accurately fire before continuing its charge.

"Slow down, Gunny, don't want to get strafed by your own men do you?" Jayce called.

"What's the matter? Can't keep up with an old man like me?" Agnate called from the turret of the Barracuda.

"Are they even training these guys before they send them out in our Zakus?" Naga asked as he fired off a dozen or so rounds at another Zaku, the rounds exploding off its right shoulder.

"Call it in, Sammy!" Jayce yelled as he fired off several rounds at advancing tanks.

Sgt. Sammy Phelps sat inside what had been dubbed the Spotter Zaku, a Zaku I that had been reformatted to act as an artillery spotter. Its mono eye had been equipped with special sensors to give out immediate information on coordinates, range, and any other data necessary to bring the hurt on from Das Sandmann's artillery.

"Sandmann, we need a strike, bearing 3-7-9 by 2-6-5."

"_Roger that, firing for effect."_

There was a pause, then seconds later a loud screeching sound echoed around the mobile suits before a single shell slammed into the middle of the charging tanks, sending them flying hundred of feet into the air.

"Sandmann, you're dead on the money." Sammy called. "Keep it coming."

"Barracuda, give us a smokescreen!"

Four small rounds quickly shot into the air from the small tube launchers on the side of the Barracuda's turret, exploding into pink clouds in mid-air. The Type-61s disappeared under the haze of smoke, but Jayce and the others continued to fire into clouds.

"Hit 'em again, Sammy!" Jayce said.

"Sandmann, give them another volley." Sammy called.

There was another pause, then the loud screeching emerged followed by several explosions that scattered pieces of debris and tanks in every direction.

"They're on the run now, Jayce." Naga called as the smoke began to clear.

"Take out those Zakus, I don't wanna see another Riyadh anytime soon." Jayce replied, opening fire on a fleeing Zaku I. A round caught it in the back of the head, shattering it into several pieces as it began to tumble over, another round catching its backpack causing it to detonate. "Don't let a single one escape."

**June 14, 0079  
Hangar 17, Baghdad, Iraq**

"Zeek, you're holding the trigger too long between bursts, you only need about five shots at the most to handle the tanks. You keep holding the trigger like you do now, you'll find yourself out of ammo real quick." Jayce said as the pilots began cleaning out the sand from parts of their respective mobile suits. Technicians and engineers went over data from inside the cockpits and ran diagnostics for potential problems

"Yes, Sir." Zeek replied, sweeping a pile of sand out of his cockpit.

"That happen often?" a voice called from below them.

"Well, we're still working on keeping the seals tight enough to keep the sand out of the cockpit, let alone from the joints and thrusters. We're supposed to be getting desert-class models eventually, but I'm not sure if we're top priority among the higher ups." Jayce replied, not looking at Duke as he cleaned the sand from between the Gouf's right middle finger.

"I was talking about that little skirmish you had out there." Duke called as he began walking up the stairs.

"Oh, that?" Jayce looked up for moment. "They've been getting a little persistent lately, but it's not all that bad. A couple companies trying to test our defenses. They trip one of our alerts, we go out and blow a few of them to hell, then they turn tail and run, and we blow a few more of them to hell."

"Lost one of your boys the other day, huh?"

"What?"

Duke jerked his thumb toward the downed Zaku from the night before. "Got a little too ahead of himself?"

Jayce's eyes went wide for a moment, but he hid it from Duke by turning back to his Gouf. "Must have." he said quickly.

"Wasn't your company?"

"No, probably Dagger Company."

"Curious, considering it's emblem is from a North Africa unit."

Jayce stopped completely. He didn't dare look at Duke as the journalist leaned against the railing, smiling at him.

"How long have the Federation been using _our_ mobile suits?" Duke asked slyly.

"I'm not at liberty to discuss that." Jayce replied after a moment. "Hey, Russ, my rifle keeps shooting more to the right. Do you think you could check my sights, or see if its my targeting system?"

"Please don't try to change the subject." Duke said, "How many Zakus were used at Riyadh?" He stopped, his eyes widening and his mouth hanging open for a second before speaking again. "Was it even one of _ours_ that detonated there?"

"That's enough!" Jayce snapped. Turning to face him, he glared at the journalist before speaking again. "This has nothing to do with you or why you came here. If you are done interviewing me, I suggest you take the next transport back into space, because I'm done speaking with you."

Duke smiled. "Why, there's no reason for you to act that way, I've still got a few more questions to ask you about your ace status. We can go back to talking about that. As for the other thing..." He simply shrugged. "Like I said, I've got thousands of sources out there."

"What do you have left to ask?" Jayce muttered, wishing for nothing better than to be rid of the man.

"You're busy right now, plus I enjoy the commentary from your friend. I'll find you when you're finished." Duke replied simply before turning to walk away.

As he heard the footsteps fade away, Jayce glanced down at the small brush he had in his hand. It had cracked slightly from his grip, and his entire hand was turning bright white from the pressure. He stared at his hand for a moment, then threw the brush as hard as he could at the Gouf's chest, watching it bounce off the emblem of the Principality and disappear.

**June 15, 0079  
The Oasis, Baghdad, Iraq**

"So, what are you going to do?" Naga asked as he took a long sip from his beer.

They were once again inside the Oasis, smoke filling the ceiling from the regular smokers and music being played by a small band in the opposite corner of the room. The entire Civic Company was sitting in the exact same spot they did the night before.

"Wait until he finishes the interview, I guess." Jayce muttered, nibbling on the small hamburger he had ordered from Al. "I talked to Neubach, but he says that they can't really stop him at the moment. If he does try to write anything about it, it'll get censored real quick."

"Then why are you worried about it?" Nate asked, giving his rare appearance that could only mean that all the female soldiers in the bar had either rejected him or left. "It sounds like it's not all that big a deal."

"It doesn't matter whether the public finds out about it, if he tries to publish it, the higher ups will definitely find out about it." Krissy snapped.

"I don't understand." Sgt. Sammy Phelps said. "What will they find out?"

"Don't worry about it." Jayce muttered. "It happened before you were transferred here."

"But don't they already know about Riyadh?" Jerry asked.

"They know most of it." Jayce replied. "But they don't know what was fudged in the reports."

"What if he talks to Dagger Company?"

Jayce stopped. He hadn't thought about that, and he didn't want that part to come to light. "They know to keep their mouths shut. Friedrich already took care of that."

"Friedrich? Didn't know you were on a first name basis with His Royal Bastard, the Colonel." Naga said with a laugh.

Jayce glared at him for a moment, but didn't say anything. Finishing the rest of his drink, he stood up. "Alright, Civic Company, hate to say it, but it's time to hit the racks."

"Aw, come on, Jayce, just one more round." Naga begged.

"No." Jayce said sternly. "It's already past midnight and we're on the early watch tomorrow."

"God, I hate these stupid raids." Zeek muttered as he stood up. "You'd think they'd figure out they can't win."

"It's their home." Krissy said, "They won't stop fighting until it's theirs again."

**June 15, 0079  
The Trenches, Baghdad, Iraq**

"Ugh." Jayce muttered, wiping the sweat from his eyes as he stared at the screen in front of him. "How much longer, Naga?"

"Another hour, I think." Naga replied.

Jayce groaned loudly, leaning back to kick the small fan back to life inside the small cockpit.

"Hey, Jayce?" Naga called.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for making us go home early, I think I'd have been dead if we'd had to stay."

"Yeah, same here." Roger called.

"Yeah, yeah." Jayce muttered. He reached over to the small cup holder he had installed himself between several smaller information screens and picked up the mug of stale coffee. He frowned as he drank it, but didn't mind it all that much. He felt the entire mobile suit shudder as Naga tapped his Gouf's shoulder to create a private channel. "Yes?"

"So, Jayce, I noticed you and Krissy have been spending some time together lately." Naga said in a near whisper, despite the fact that there was no way for others to hear him.

"Are you really doing this?" Jayce asked.

"Doing what?"

"Why do you care, Naga?"

"There's something about her I don't like."

"Would that be because she's one of the few girls around here that wouldn't give you the time of day, let alone the need to pull rank on Nate to talk to her?"

"Ouch. That was harsh. But no, that's not why."

"Then what?"

"Well, it's just... I dunno how to explain it."

"Well, keep it to yourself until you can." Jayce replied, breaking contact with Naga by walking several steps forward. He didn't look at his friend for several minutes, then glanced over to find him back at his post.

"Hey, Naga." he called.

"Yeah?"

"I appreciate it though."

"Yeah, yeah."

Jayce sighed, turning in his seat slightly. He finished the last remnants of the coffee with a grimace. For a moment, he stared out toward the horizon, listening to the small fan blowing above him. Slowly, before he realized it, he began to mutter the first thing that came to his mind.

"_Ob's stürmt oder schneit,  
Ob die Sonne uns lacht,  
Der Tag glühend heiß  
Oder eiskalt die Nacht.  
Bestaubt sind die Gesichter,  
Doch froh ist unser Sinn,"_

"_Ja, unser Sinn."_

Jayce smiled when he heard Nate join in, realizing what he had been muttering.

"_Es braust unser Panzer  
Im Sturmwind dahin."_

**June 15, 0079  
Baghdad, Iraq**

"Another boring watch, huh?" Friedrich asked.

"Basically." Jayce replied, his eyes glued toward the window. "Where are we going?"

Friedrich smiled and gazed out of the transport truck. A Dopp fighter flew over, along with a Luggun acting as overwatch. "I just wanted to show you something."

"Do we have to go to the middle of the city for it?"

"Actually, yes, we do."

The truck came to a halt, and a young Private opened the door for the two men. Jayce stood looking at the building in front of him. "What in the world?" he muttered as he stared.

"It's called the Monument to the Unknown Soldier." Friedrich replied. The two looked at the flying saucer-like building, guarded by dozens of foot soldiers and several Magella Attack.

"So why did you want to show me it? Figure out who it is?" Jayce asked.

"No, smart ass." Friedrich replied, walking toward the building. He kept his hands behind his back, holding his leather gloves as he walked. "Riyadh inspired me to take certain, precautions for Baghdad."

"What sort of precautions?" Jayce asked, not liking where this sounded like it was going.

"It's ironic, in some way I'm sure." Friedrich replied. "There's an underground museum, perfect for storing things if I so desired..."

The two made their way inside, walking past several guard stations who saluted as the Colonel passed them.

"There's two other memorials for the same war that this one is for." Friedrich was saying as they stopped in front of another guard post, this time showing their identification before a large steel door was opened in front of them. "Tell, what do you think?" Friedrich asked as they entered the room.

"Friedrich...No..." Jayce whispered, his eyes glued to the front.

A large pod, resembling a shrunken HLV sat in the middle of the room, six huge square engine-like blocks circled around the device, connected by long rods and pipes running between them.

"We removed the six Minovsky reactors from some of the Zakus you've been downing during these raids." Friedrich said, looking up at the large device. "You can see where some shrapnel hit one of them." He pointed toward one of the ones on the right.

"You can't be serious about this."

"Why not?" Friedrich asked. "This city is one of the key strong points in the Middle East. We're the last defense for Odessa should the Federation try to strike from the south, let alone our launcher. We're the key supply line for not only the Middle East, but also North Africa and South Asia. If we lose this spaceport, we're not getting it back. If we can't use it, why should we let the Feddies have it."

"It's insane." Jayce replied. "You can't just blow up the city if the Feddies start overrunning the place."

Friedrich smirked at his brother and said rather coldly, "Then I suppose you shouldn't let them get the chance, should you?"

**June 15, 0079  
Hangar 17, Baghdad, Iraq**

"My, you people really are tight nit, aren't you?" Duke asked sullenly as he sat inside the hangar once again. He looked as though he hadn't slept since he had arrived, still wearing the same clothes as the day before, with his greasy hair pointing everywhere under his crushed hat.

"You could say that, I suppose." Jayce muttered, his eyes wandering toward the mobile suits.

"I suppose I should get out of your hair and finish up this interview." Duke muttered. "I've got several others I need to do." He opened his laptop again and began typing with his free hand again. "What exactly is it that your unit does?"

"We're a Mobile Assault Battalion. We were originally created to be an airborne quick attack, you know, to assault keep points, drop in for sieges, hit the enemy hard and fast, and just basically wipe them out." Jayce explained in the most simplistic way possible.

"How have you managed, casualty-wise?"

"I'm sorry?" Jayce asked, turning to look back at Duke.

"Has your unit received a large number of casualties since your arrival on the surface?" Duke asked.

"Well, yeah, I mean, there's no way to avoid that." Jayce glanced around the hangar, noticing Krissy as she talked with several technicians. "In Civic, Lt. Mitsuharu, Sgt. Salim, Sgt. Madison, and I are the only ones from the initial drop, after that, Davidson's been around since Kazahkstan."

"I see...And how would you compare the replacement pilots to the ones that you've lost?"

"Well, I mean, I don't really think about that much...They're about the same, and I'll try my damndest to try to get them home safely when all of this is said and done."

"What about for the ones that were lost?"

"I...er...I don't really feel like talking about that."

"How about this, was it twelve, or thirteen officers that you shot up back at Riyadh."

Jayce stared with his mouth hanging open at this question. "I...I..."

Duke smirked as he stared at Jayce. "Most interesting, wouldn't you say?"

Jayce was silent for a moment. Then, without any warning, he reached to his side and quickly drew his sidearm. He kept the pistol low so that nobody around them could see, but made sure that Duke knew well enough what was pointed at him. He was surprised to see Duke still smiling.

"You won't be able to get rid of me like Durst, if that's what you're thinking." he said simply.

"How...How do you know about Durst?" Jayce asked, his grip on the pistol wavering.

Duke just laughed. "You should ask your brother."

Jayce felt his arm fall to his side, but was too overcome with the information running through his mind. "H...How..."

Duke opened his mouth to speak, but any words he said was drowned out as the air raid siren once again sprung to life. The two stared at one another in silence as the siren wailed above them. Duke made a nod of his head toward the mobile suits.

"Shouldn't you be going?" he asked simply.

Jayce slowly stood, his eyes never moving from Duke. "This isn't over." he said before turning to run over to his mobile suit.

**June 15, 0079  
The Trenches, Baghdad, Iraq**

"Talk to me." Jayce called as he maneuvered down the runway.

"_There's no way this can be right."_ Major Davis replied. _"I'm seeing at least two_ _companies, but they keep jumping across the screen."_

"I don't like the sound of that." Naga said as he slid down the small trench that the riverbed running just west of the spaceport had been turned into.

"Yeah, well, we're only in charge of this area, let the other companies take care of the other sides." Jayce replied, positioning himself a hundred meters north of Naga's platoon. "Everyone, check in."

"2nd Platoon, up!" Krissy called.

"3rd Platoon, up!" Naga called.

"Civic Company, up!" Jayce called after the others had made their presence known. "Sammy, can you see anything out there?"

"Jack shit, aside from lots of dust." Sammy replied. "Wait a minute..." Jayce listened to the loud whir of her Zaku's camera as it zoomed in more. "Shit, I've got Type-61s approaching! Fifteen, no thirty!"

Jayce gazed out into the dust. He had to admire the adjustments that had been made to Sammy's mobile suit that allowed her to see a lot further than the others. "Call it in." Jayce said. Something caught his eye, and he stared out into the dust for a moment. Large, bright flashes appeared in the middle of the haze. "Get down!" he screamed.

Explosions rocked the trench around them as 150mm shells began to slam in the dirt in front of them. It subsided after about ten seconds, allowing Jayce and the others to begin a counterattack. Raising their autocannons above their mobile suits they fired back, using the cameras on their rifles to try and target the enemies.

"Sammy, call it in!" Jayce screamed as another volley slammed into their trench.

"I can't get the readings!" Sammy screamed back. "They're moving too fast for me to get anything." An explosion rocked her shoulder as a 150mm shell blew off her left arm.

"Shit." Jayce said. Flashes caught his attention in his peripheral and he turned to look north of their position. "Dagger Company's under attack too."

"So's Baker!" Naga called, pointing south of them.

"Sandman, this is Sand Rat, you copy?" Jayce called, keeping low as he checked Sammy's Zaku. He gave a sigh of relief when she gave him a thumbs up with the Zaku's remaining hand.

"_This is Sandman, come back."_

"Sandman, what's going on? There's more tanks here than there should be, and I'm seeing flashes from the other companies' positions. I thought you said there were only two companies, there's way more than just that!" Jayce called as he let out another burst from his assault rifle.

"_Sand Rat..."_ There was a slight pause as Major Davis struggled to find words. _"We don't know what this is, they just keep popping up. This might be a full on siege."_

"Shit..." Jayce muttered.

A loud roar echoed overhead, and Jayce shook inside the Gouf slightly from the shockwave. For a moment, he thought that the Das Sandmann has fired out into the midst of the Federation formation, but was quickly corrected when several large explosions erupted from one of the hangars behind him.

"Shit, this is the big one!" Jayce screamed, popping back up in the trench to let off a long burst at the advancing tanks, watching in satisfaction when five exploded into fireballs. "Sandman, there's a..."

"_We know, we know."_ Davis replied. _"We're trying to find the Big Tray as we speak. It doesn't seem to have anything zeroed in just yet, so don't worry for now."_

"Not yet?!" Jayce screamed, feeling the shockwave as a tank round zipped inches from the Gouf's head. "So we just wait until they do?!"

A Magella Attack rolled to up behind them, firing off a round toward the Type-61s. "Keep it together now, Captain." Agnate called from inside the turret before firing another round.

The sky above them roared again, and behind them the spaceport launcher erupted into large pieces.

"Sammy!" Jayce screamed.

"Got it!" she screamed back. "Sandmann, Sandmann, sending you coordinates for enemy Big Tray. Please confirm."

"_Confirming datalink. Roger that, coordinates received."_ Major Davis replied.

Another shockwave erupted over the trench, shaking Jayce down to his bones, causing his next burst to completely miss the tank he was aiming for. A bright flash of light in the distance was all Jayce needed to know before the loud boom of the shells hitting their target reached his ears.

"Target confirmed hit!" Sammy called out in joy.

"Is it sunk?" Jayce asked.

"Can't tell, but there's a lot of smoke." Sammy replied.

Large plumes of smoke erupted in front of them, skewing their views.

"The hell?" Jayce muttered, opening fire into the thickness.

"It wasn't me." Agnate called.

"_All enemy forces are confirmed in retreat. All units regroup and keep an eye out."_

Jayce let out a loud sigh of relief as he watched the smoke clear and found no enemy waiting on the other side. "Alright guys, we've got a nice little breather now. Don't get too comfortable though, I doubt they sent all those tanks this whole way just to run away after twenty minutes." he said.

"_Sand Rat Actual, this is Sandman, come back."_

"This is Sand Rat Actual." Jayce replied turning to look back at Das Sandmann.

"_All mobile units are ordered into overwatch while the combat engineers prep the outlining bridges for demolition. Civic Company is ordered to escort a platoon south of the Living Square. Their targets will be Bridges Seven through Twelve. A green flare will be fired if they need to be blown. Double time it."_

**June 15, 0079  
Route 8, Al Mahmudiyah, Iraq**

"Bridge Nine is rigged, boss."

Jayce maneuvered his mono-eye so that he could look down at the engineer who had spoken to him. "Gotcha, let's hurry up and get the others done." he said before turning to look at the other teams in the distance.

"Jayce, we got all but Bridge Twelve." Naga said, walking over with the others from 3rd Platoon.

"Alright, boys, let's load up and get 'er done!" Jayce called. He stopped when he noticed everyone staring at him. "What?"

"No, Jayce. Just...No." Davidson said.

The others burst into laughter as they began making their way to Bridge Twelve, which was located eight kilometers from Bridge Eleven, allowing plenty the pilots time to relax, if even just the slightest bit.

"Naga." Jayce said, making sure he had initiated skin talk by placing his Gouf's hand on the Zaku's shoulder. "I need to talk to you about something."

"It's not about old white trash comedians is it?" Naga asked, stifling a slight snigger.

"This is important." Jayce muttered. He told Naga about his conversation with Duke, skewing the fact that Duke had said his brother by saying it was the Colonel.

"The Colonel sold you out?" Naga asked, surprise in his voice.

"I don't know..." Jayce muttered. He pulled away from Naga for a moment to scan around them. They had arrived at Bridge Twelve. "Aright, ladies and gents." he said to the entire company, "Hasty 180, 1st up front, 2nd to my left, 3rd up on the right. Got it?"

"Roger." the entire company called before maneuvering to their respective spots.

"Jayce." a voice called simply, making him stop as he began moving toward his platoon.

"Yeah?" he asked, swinging his mono-eye toward Krissy's Desert Zaku.

She walked over to him, initiating skin talk by placing her Zaku's right hand into his left. "I wanted to watch the sunset with you."

"Krissy, this isn't the time!" Jayce said sternly, moving to pull away from her. He stopped though, when he saw her point toward the sky. He didn't know what it was about the sky, but something about the mix of color in the clouds caught his attention. He stood in awe in the silence, admiring the sight of the sunset. He felt, oddly, at peace.

He was jolted out of this when his Gouf was jerked to the side by an unseen foe. Quickly swinging around to strike his enemy, he was surprised to see Naga's Zaku staring at him.

"Jayce, what the hell is wrong with you? I've been trying to get your attention for five minutes!" Naga yelled.

"Why? What's up?" Jayce asked, his voice giving off a drunken stupor.

"Green flares have been shooting off. The engineers say they've detonated the other bridges, but there's been a problem with this one."

Jayce cursed himself for getting distracted. Looking over, he saw another bright green flash soar high into the air, followed by brighter flashes along the ground.

"Alright, 3rd Platoon, stay here and keep an eye on the bridge, destroy it any way you have to." Jayce called, "The rest of Civic Company, follow me."

Quickly charging back to the spaceport, Jayce began to pick up the transmissions from the other companies.

"_There's got to be twice as many tanks as last time!"_

"_Killory, shut the hell up and shoot."_

"_Captain Manning, a couple of the bridges didn't blow!"_

"_What?!"_

"_Type 61s have broken through the perimeter, I repeat, there's Feddies in the Fortress Island!"_

"You heard 'em, let's get a move on!" Jayce yelled, pounding on the throttle to boost him in the air quickly. Landing just short of the spaceport, he quickly let out a long burst at several tanks as they turned to face him. Two of them exploded immediately as rounds hit their marks. The others pressed behind him, sending large plumes of sand high into the air from their rounds.

"Why isn't the Big Tray firing?" Jayce wondered to himself, watching as Das Sandmann opened fire on a group of tanks that hadn't yet reached the trench line. He shrugged the thought off, telling himself that it was probably too damaged to attack.

"Jayce, we're here!" Naga called, firing off a long burst as he came alongside Jayce. "Mind telling me what that was all about?"

"Just shut up and shoot!" Jayce replied.

Suddenly, the Type-61s fired off rounds of smoke bombs, creating a wall of smoke between Civic Company the rest of the battalion. Jayce didn't think much of this though as he listened to the transmissions from the others.

"_They're retreating again!"_

"_Then what the hell was the point of this whole thing?"_

"_Did we lose anybody?"_

"_None over here."_

Walking through the smoke, Jayce and the others took a few parting shots at several fleeing tanks, hitting one or two before the disappeared from range.

"That was anti-climatic." Davidson muttered.

"_Sand Rat Actual, come back."_

"Crap," Jayce muttered. "This is Sand Rat Actual."

"_Captain, move your company back to a defensive position in the trenches. Send one platoon to ensure that there aren't still any tanks within the Island."_

"Roger that." Jayce muttered. He turned toward the others. "2nd Platoon, you're on patrol, check and see that none of these tanks around here are playing possum. The rest of us is on trench watch." He watched as Krissy and the others make their way toward the nearest group of downed tanks. "Let's go."

As the mobile suits slid down the trench, several large explosions caught their attention. Turning to look, Jayce saw that it was the remaining bridges being blown. Listening to small chunks of concrete rain down on his Gouf, he shivered for a moment as it reminded him of something he had long since forgotten.

"Jayce?" Naga began.

"3rd Platoon, get some sleep!" Jayce nearly screamed, jumping out of his trance. "1st Platoon will keep watch."

"Right, whatever." Naga muttered, crouching his Zaku down and leaning its back against the rear wall.

Jayce stared out toward the sunset, barely noticing the green flash just before the sun disappeared, lost in his own thought.

**June 15, 0079  
The Trenches, Baghdad, Iraq**

"Oi, Naga, wake up." Jayce muttered, nudging his friend slightly.

"Gayle, is that the shoulder nudge, or the tap?" Naga replied, still asleep.

"Uh, the tap?"

"Bought time." Naga said, shifting over and opening his eyes. "Damn." he muttered when he caught sight of Jayce.

"What's the matter, Naga? Don't you like my tap?" Jayce said, laughing loudly.

"Shut up." Naga muttered, rubbing his eyes. "What's up?"

"3rd Platoon's turn for watch." Jayce replied. "2nd Platoon's already returned, so just wake them in three hours."

Naga watched as his friend began slowly climbing out of the cockpit. "Hey, Jayce," he called.

Jayce stopped and turned around, hanging on to the outer handles. "Yeah?"

"You gonna tell me what that was earlier?"

Jayce sighed. "I'm going to get some sleep. Don't forget to wake up 2nd Platoon in three hours, and have them wake me up three hours after that."

**June 16, 0079  
The Trenches, Baghdad, Iraq**

A loud roar jolted Jayce awake. He had just barely opened his eyes when a huge fireball erupted north of them, the sound of the explosion reaching them several seconds after the fact.

"The hell was that?" he yelled, standing his Gouf up to see better.

"That was Bravo Company's position!" Davidson yelled, taking several steps towards it.

"Sammy, find out where that came from." Jayce ordered. "How the hell did the Big Tray zero in on them so easily?" he wondered aloud.

"Incoming!" Naga called, opening fire out into the distance.

Jayce turned and saw, sure enough enemies charging toward them. As he lifted his assault rifle to begin to fire, he cursed when he saw that they were Zakus. Firing a short burst, he smiled slightly when he watched the rounds slam into the lead Zaku, causing it to tumble over dead. He had to duck quickly afterwards to avoid a burst directed towards him.

Coming to a realization, Jayce turned his attention away from the attacking Zakus and fired off a flare to alert the other units. He was responded to this by bright flashes in the distance, as they encountered their own enemies.

"I've got it!" Sammy yelled. "Relaying coordi— Ah!"

Jayce turned just in time to see several rounds strike Sammy's exposed mobile suit, sending it sprawling back into the trench.

"_This is Sandmann, coordinates received."_ Davis said urgently.

As Jayce checked Sammy's condition, a loud roar zoomed overhead, forcing him to look up as Das Sandmann was struck by a volley just as it fired.

"_Dammit!"_ Davis yelled.

Jayce didn't have to look behind him to know that the barrage had missed the Federation Big Tray. "Sandmann, what's your status?"

"_We've been hit in our rear turret, but it's only minor damage." _Davis replied.

Another loud roar jolted overhead, and another explosion erupted on top of Booker Company's position.

Turning back to face the enemy, Jayce let out another quick burst with his rifle at the attacking Federation units. "Don't give them an inch!" he screamed as he downed another one. Bullets and dirt flew around his head, but he ignored it as he lined each shot up and let out long bursts.

"_This is Booker Company, we can't hold with this artillery pounding us."_ Captain Manning called. _"We're falling back to another defensive position."_

"Shit..."

"_This is Frat Company, we're being overrun."_ Captain Moore called. _"We're falling back too."_

"Fucking coward!" Naga yelled.

"_Archer here, we're getting hit by Zakus in the trenches, we're practically surrounded! Falling back." _Captain Tomiko yelled.

Jayce turned to watch mobile suits jumping in and out of the trench, flashes in the distance telling him the fighting was getting fierce.

"This is Civic Company, we are holding strong and not going anywhere!" he screamed, letting out another long burst from his rifle.

"_Dagger Company, ditto on the holding. Civ, you hold our north and Ec hold our south, we can run them off real quick."_ Captain Richards called.

"_Eclipse Company, we'll hold them long as we can."_ Captain Smith replied.

"Keep firing! Stay low!" Jayce called as he reloaded. He looked up just in time to see a Zaku dropping out of the air on top of him. As it began to open fire on him, he slid to the side and let out a long burst toward it, snapping it out of the air and causing it to come tumbling down behind him.

"_This is Sandman, all units are ordered to fall back to secondary defense points to prevent being surrounded. We'll regroup and then push them out into the desert."_ Friedrich said simply.

"Shit...You heard them, let's pull back.." Jayce called. "Count it down!"

Naga let out a long burst as he tapped the rest of the members of 3rd Platoon, letting them pull back from out of the trenches before he gave the signal to 2nd Platoon that it was all clear for them. Jayce was the last to leave, firing into the darkness as he propelled himself backwards.

"Agnate, give us a smokescreen." he called as he landed.

"Sure thing." Agnate called from inside Magella. Large plumes of smoke covered their way as they retreated quickly towards Das Sandmann.

"Report!" Jayce called.

"3rd Platoon, up!"

"2nd Platoon up!"

"1st Platoon, up!"

"Civic Company reporting." Jayce said as they arrived.

He was surprised to see Colonel Neubach's Zaku standing beside the Big Tray. It was easy to distinguish the mobile suit from the other companies due in most part because of the customization made to it. On the shoulder shield of his mobile suit, just under the 301st Desert Expeditionary Division emblem of a palm tree with the Duchy standard in the middle of the trunk, is a picture of a creature made entirely of sand reaching out to the viewer, the battalion emblem. Along with this, the fact that the Zaku was painted in a dazzle camouflage pattern using desert colors.

"We're retreating." Friedrich said simply. "Federation reinforcements have been spotted in route and if we don't pull out now, we'll be quickly overrun."

Jayce watched as the Big Tray began to slowly pull back, firing a volley at the trenches as a group of Zakus tried to cross it.

"We're going to be moving northeast, meeting elements of the 56th that will help us take back the city. Now let's move." Friedrich said.

Jayce watched as Das Sandmann quickly began to pull away, firing volley after volley as the covered the retreat. "There's something wrong with this." he muttered to himself.

He turned back and began to fire at the enemy Zakus as he slowly retreated along with the others.

"Don't worry, we'll have the city back before the Feddies have time to realize we're gone." Friedrich called.

They quickly made their way down the long road leading from the spaceport to the innards of the city. Jayce paused as they passed by the Oasis, giving a halfhearted salute as he passed. He listened to gunfire in the distance, the stragglers meeting with the Federation units.

It wasn't until he began to see two large crossed swords in the distance that something began to click inside of his mind. As they turned left on the highway, Jayce knew exactly where they were going. Running forward to catch up with Friedrich, he grabbed his brother's mobile suit and initiated skin talk.

"What do you think you're doing Friedrich?" he asked.

"I'm going to set the charges on that little bomb and we're going to wait until they're inside the city before I turn Baghdad into a lake." Friedrich replied simply.

"You can't do that, Friedrich, what about all the units that need this base? You said we were the second most important supply line in this hemisphere aside from Odessa."

"I also said that if we lose this city we won't ever get it back." Friedrich replied. "We'll find another city to replace it, and all our equipment was already gathered up after the first wave. We won't lose anything out of this."

"But what about the rest of the people here?" Jayce said, waving his free hand toward the city.

"They won't feel a thing." Friedrich replied coldy. "Just a quick flash of light and before they have to ask what it is they're nothing more than dust in the wind."

"Don't you care about them? They're human beings!"

"They're gravity-heathens. They're worth less than those people you massacred at Side 1."

"Friedrich, please." Jayce said through grit teeth "Please don't do this."

"If you're so hellbent on keeping this city," Friedrich said, "then why don't you just stay here and save it." He shrugged off Jayce's hand and continued walking, making his way to the fallen disk in the distance.

Jayce just stood on the road as the others continued moving around him. He stared at his hands inside of his cockpit for a moment as he weighed his options. He looked up when he saw Naga and the others pass by him. Finally, after watching Krissy's mobile suit pass by him, he came to a decision.

"Civic Company, halt!" he ordered.

"So, you would rather save the heathens than your own brethren, huh?" Friedrich called, laughing slightly. "11th Battalion, Civic Company has volunteered to remain behind and cover our retreat."

"Jayce, what's going on?" Naga asked as he walked over to him.

"We're not leaving." Jayce replied, shaking slightly inside of his cockpit. "I'm not going to just abandon this city after everything we've sacrificed for it."

Naga nodded. "I gotcha. Dix and Thompson. Alright, 2nd Platoon, you ready to kick some Feddie ass?"

"Permission to remain with Civic Company." a voice called.

Jayce turned to see who had spoken, surprised to see Captain Manning's mobile suit.

"If you really want to, Hank, go ahead." Friedrich said with a wave.

"Permission to join Company Commander." another voice said.

They turned again to find the remnants of Booker Company. Their mobile suits were partially blackened from the artillery barrages and several were missing limbs.

"What kinda loyalty would we have if we left the Captain behind." they explained.

"Permission for Dagger Company to join in." Captain Richards called.

"Permission for Archer."

"For Frat."

"For Eclipse."

"_Permission for Das Sandmann."_

Friedrich stared at the men around him. After a minute of silence, he simply waved them off. "Do what you want." he muttered.

"Alright, men, let's take back our base!" Jayce called, turning his Gouf around to maneuver back towards the base.

Friedrich watched as the mobile suits and Big Tray slowly disappeared around a corner before letting a small grin cross his face. "Well, that was unexpected." he muttered before slwoly following them.

**June 15, 0079  
Outskirts, Baghdad, Iraq**

The sun was just beginning to rise when Jayce and the others arrived back on the edge of the city. He paused for a moment as he watched them maneuver slowly around the base.

"They're not even trying to hide the fact that they're Feddie mobile suits." Naga muttered, standing alongside him.

Jayce nodded, but didn't say a word. He looked at the Zakus with large Federation standards emblazoned on the shoulder shields. They were painted in the chocolate-chip camouflage pattern with several of them marked to show officers.

"Pick your targets and wait for my signal before opening fire." he said after a moment, leaning forward in his seat to better see.

He watched as his rifle followed a lone Zaku made its way toward a fallen Zaku I. As it bent down to pick up the mobile suit's bazooka, Jayce fired off a quick burst. He watched as the rounds struck the mobile suit in its backpack, erupting it into a giant fireball.

The line of mobile suits opened fire on the Federation soldiers, advancing slowly from the line of buildings. The Magella Attack followed closely behind, letting off volley after volley as they charged forward.

The Federation pilots were greeted with a wall of bullets and rockets as the entirety of the 11th Mobile Assault Battalion, the Sandmen, charged across the spaceport. Jayce watched as round after round pounded each mobile suits, imagining the horror in the pilots eyes just before they were struck.

They had just barely passed by the gigantic space launcher when the Federation suits turned tail and began to run away, many propelling themselves into the sky to get away.

"Don't let a single Zaku out alive!" Jayce yelled, quickly reloading his rifle before letting out a long burst toward the flying Zakus.

"Damn right!" Zeek called, shooting one of the retreating Zakus in the back of the knees, striking him in the back as it tumbled to the ground.

Smoke exploded from the ground just as the Federation mobile suits crossed the trench line, hiding the mobile suits from sight as Jayce and the others pursued them.

"Civic Company, keep moving forward!" Jayce screamed, jumping over the trench. A small shape crossed his peripheral and turning to look, he was surprised to see a small Type 74 Hover Truck pulling away from between two destroyed Type-61 tanks. "What the hell?"

A loud roar echoed above them, chilling Jayce to his bones. Turning to look, he watched as the front of Das Sandmann, just under the main bridge, erupted into a huge fireball.

"Das Sandmann's been hit!" Naga screamed. "Oh shit!"

Another loud roar erupted just over them, turning the ground around them into a huge fireball. Jayce was knocked around inside of the Gouf, smashing his head against one of the small monitors on his right. Wiping the blood out of his eye, he looked around at his company.

"Anybody hit?" he called.

"Oh my God! Nate? Nate!" Krissy screamed, sending a wave of horror down Jayce's spine.

He turned and looked over toward Davidson's Zaku I, or what was left of it anyways. A large hole in what could be considered its stomach billowed black smoke like an old locomotive. Nothing remained below it, and its arms were missing too. Its head was covered with shards of metal, more than likely from its missing parts. There was no question as to whether Nate was alive or not, only if his remains were still in one piece.

The world froze for Jayce. He couldn't hear anything, couldn't see anything. He didn't hear Naga shouting for him, he didn't hear Das Sandmann fire one last volley, or see the Federation Big Tray explode into a gigantic fireball. His vision tunneled, Nate's voice echoing in his head. He saw him back at Chateau Base, smiling as Das Sandmann arrived to rescue him. He saw him sitting with Jerry and Roger in the hangar, doing his impression of Major Davis giving a speech. He saw him standing at the Oasis, flirting with the same female soldiers from Archer and Frat Company and getting shot down every time. He saw him sitting in his open Zaku, staring out toward the horizon as they sang old war songs for no other reason than to kill time.

He turned his head, remnants of the retreating Zakus still in sight. Letting out a bloodcurdling scream, he launched himself toward them. As he flew threw the air, he opened fire on them, holding the trigger until the magazine ran dry. Two were taken down by the gunfire, stumbling over and sliding a short distance in the fields of grass. A third one turned to fire at him, but he was already on his descent and managed to dodge the bullets flying at him long enough to come crashing down on top of it.

Slamming the barrel of his rifle through the mono-eye of the downed Zaku, he twisted the gun until he shoved the entirety of the rifle down through the cockpit. Drawing his heat saber, he twisted around just as a Zaku I turned to fire at him and sliced it in half. He charged toward two more retreating Zakus, stabbing one in the back of the knee as it tried to boost away and smashing the other one over with his shield.

Taking time to finish both off, he barely acknowledged the 280mm bazooka round that flew past him. He flicked his mono-eye to see who had shot at him and quickly spotted a lone Zaku aiming a bazooka toward him. Not giving him a chance to fire another round, Jayce launched himself at it, slamming into it and knocking it over. He sliced the bazooka in half, catching the Zaku in the shoulder and sending the entire arm tumbling down. Grabbing the other arm, he ripped it at the elbow and smashed the head partially in with it. He slammed the arm against the chestplate, crumbling in the chest enough for him to tear it off. Reaching into the cockpit, he pulled out the pilot still attached to his chair. He brought the pilot close to his mono-eye, zooming in for a moment to study his face for a moment. Tearing his eyes away from the terrified pilot, he twisted the Gouf around and threw the pilot as far as he could, watching him disappear in the distance.

A small object caught his eye and Jayce turned to the Type 74 Hover Truck scrambling to get away. Screaming in rage, he threw his heat saber at it, watching as it struck in front of the truck and sent it spinning into the air. Taking his time, he walked over to the overturned truck, smiling as he watched the men inside struggle to climb out. He raised a foot above it, prepared to crush it, but was stopped when his Gouf was lifted partially into the air. He screamed, clawing and kicking for a moment as he struggled to free himself from the Zaku's grip. He stopped though when he heard a familiar voice speak to him.

"Jayce, please."

He swung his camera eye to look at the Zaku holding him. The familiar tan horn and head vulcans of Krissy's Desert Zaku were the only thing he could see, but it was enough to calm him down. He looked back to watch the Federation soldiers run off, leaving the Hover Tank behind.

"Jayce, please..."

"I'm alright now." he muttered, shifting slightly in his seat as he removed his cap. "I'm alright."

**June 16, 0079  
Das Sandmann, Baghdad, Iraq**

The fires that had erupted inside the Big Tray had long since been put out, but the stains and smell remained. Jayce slowly made his way past a partially vaporized desk and stopped in front of the partial remains of Friedrich's door. He really didn't need to knock, Friedrich could see him through the bent upper half of the door, but due in most part to tradition he knocked and waited to be let in.

"Come in." Friedrich called, eyeing his brother through the hole.

Jayce walked inside, gazing around the room, or the remains of it at any rate. A hole had been blown through the right wall of the office, joining it with the next room and giving them a skylight. Much of the room was charred and sooty, saving only the left wall in its original condition.

Friedrich was leaning against the left wall, removing a partially burnt photograph of a Gwazine-class battleship signed by Dozle Zabi. He didn't look at his brother as he placed the picture in a small box filled with framed pictures and small knick-knacks.

"You know," Friedrich muttered, returning to the wall and wiping away the soot from his diploma before removing it, "they're never going to know what you did for them, and they're never going to care."

"Who?" Jayce asked, leaning against the wall beside the door.

Friedrich looked up, letting the thinnest traces of a small cross his lips. "Why, the heathens of Baghdad, of course. They'll never know what you sacrificed to save them. They'll continue to hate you for being the 'evil invader' and will continue to plot your demise just like the rest of us."

Jayce shifted his feet slightly, eyeing his boots for a moment. "I did what I thought was right. We can't just go around destroying cities if we think we're going to lose them."

Friedrich laughed slightly, his voice mocking and hollow. "Was it worth it?" He waved a hand around the room. "Well, was it?"

Jayce felt his fist tighten and shoved it into his pocket quickly. "I have to figure that out myself, I guess."

Friedrich's lips twitched into a mocking smile before he burst out laughing again. "You'll have to figure that out, eh?" He turned and tossed his diploma carelessly into the box. "You know, Dietrich, I think Desert Knight is too nice a name for you, it's only half right. I think you should also be called the Desert Butcher. It has a nice ring to it, wouldn't you agree?"

"Quite so." a voice said from the doorway.

Looking over, Jayce was shocked by who he saw. Duke stood in the open doorway, cleaned and trimmed. His hair was slicked back and his red eyes were crystal clear underneath his yellow aviators. He was also dressed in a Zeon officer's uniform, the insignia on his chest revealing him to be a high ranking officer.

"Shouldn't you be saluting a superior officer?" he asked with a wide grin on his face.

"Ah, I see you've already met Lt. Colonel Freyr Duke." Friedrich muttered.

"Zeon Intelligence, Africa Branch." Duke said, making his way over toward Friedrich. "Graduated just under your brother in class rank."

"And I see you're still under me in rank." Friedrich replied, tapping his own rank insignia.

"Har har, always the kidder." Duke replied. "I haven't seen you in ages, my boy! Glad to see you're still doing well."

"We've been old buddies since the Academy." Friedrich explained. "He's the one that's been helping me cover your ass."

"You're a nice chunk of paperwork for me." Duke said, raising his hand bringing his index finger and thumb about an inch apart to show the thickness.

"So, he wasn't a journalist?" Jayce asked, the shock on his face completely evident.

"Me? No, never!" Duke replied, laughing.

"So, what was this? Some sort of joke?"

Friedrich looked over toward his brother for a moment. "If you're upset about the interview, the reporter is coming at the end of the week." He looked over toward Duke for a moment. "Why would a journalist write an article on a bunch of aces when it would be so much simpler to just to put in on television?"

"He really doesn't think for himself much, does he?" Duke asked.

Friedrich grinned devilishly toward his brother. "At any rate, Duke came here to screen you for a special mission."

"Special mission?" Jayce mouthed.

"It's one I think you'll take a particular liking to, given the unexpected turn of events." Duke replied, twirling a finger in the air.

"What is it?" Jayce asked.

"In due time, my brother," Friedrich replied.

"It's highly classified." Duke explained. "I can tell you that it involves getting revenge on those Feddies that attacked us yesterday." He smiled as he stared at Jayce. "How'd you like to make it so that you never see another Feddie piloting a Zaku?"

Jayce nodded, but said nothing.

"Look, Duke, you've made him speechless." Friedrich said as he returned to the wall to remove a Zeon standard from its stand.

"Maybe he's thinking about how much paperwork he's going to cause me if he keeps it up with that female officer in his company." Duke said with a laugh.

Friedrich raised an eyebrow as he looked back at Jayce. "When did this start?"

"That's none of your business." Jayce snapped.

"And he speaks!" Duke said. He winked at Jayce as he grinned. "Knew that'd get you to say something."

"You better not be fraternizing with Lieutenant Aldrine, that's just what I need." Friedrich muttered, rolling his eyes.

Jayce spun on the heels of his boots and walked out, slamming the door shut behind him. Friedrich and Duke watched him through the whole for a moment, waiting for him to disappear.

"That boy's probably gonna end up surpassing you," Duke muttered, pulling a cigarette from one of his pockets, "both in skill, and leadership."

Friedrich let out a loud sigh, shaking his head as he spoke. "That's what I'm afraid of."

Duke nodded, lighting his cigarette with a match. "Of course, that's provided that he learns to stop being your little dog."

"Like that'll happen."

**June 17, 0079  
The Oasis, Baghdad, Iraq**

The Oasis was quiet in the corner seats where Civic Company always sat. They glanced at one another, silently sipping on their beers.

"Big fight the other day, huh?" Al asked as he stopped by the table, dropping off the next round of drinks.

"Yeah, you could say that." Naga muttered as he grabbed one of the new bottles.

"Where's your loud friend?" Al asked, looking around the bar for a moment. "The one that always runs the girls off, I wanted to introduce him to my niece."

The members of Civic Company didn't respond, most choosing to look at the table while Jayce threw back his drink and stared off into space. Al waited for a moment before coming to a realization.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." he said, backing up slowly. "This round is on me."

They watched as he left, each picking up a bottle from the middle of the table. They held the bottles for a moment, unsure of what to do with them. Surprisingly enough, it was Naga that broke the silence.

"_Ob's stürmt oder schneit,  
Ob die Sonne uns lacht,  
Der Tag glühend heiß  
Oder eiskalt die Nacht.  
Bestaubt sind die Gesichter,  
Doch froh ist unser Sinn,"_

Jayce let a small smile cross his lips as he called out, _"Ja, ist unser Sinn."_

The others at the table quickly joined in, tapping their feet to keep the beat.

"_Es braust unser Panzer  
Im Sturmwind dahin."_

The others in the bar looked over toward the table and began stomping their feet and tapping their drinks against the table. Several even began to join in on the singing.

"_Mit donnernden Motoren,  
Geschwind wie der Blitz,  
Dem Feinde entgegen,  
Im Panzer geschutz  
Voraus den Kameraden,  
Im Kampf steh'n wir allein,"_

"_Steh'n wir allein,"_ Jayce called out.

While the others continued to sing, Jayce began to think about the men and women he had lost in his unit. For a moment, he began to see them in the bar with him.

Corporal Nate Davidson was over at the bar, flirting with the same women as always, getting slapped for saying some random comment he made. Cpl. Ardashir Klein sat with Cpl. Niko Kostuk at a separate table, a deck of cards and small pile of poker chips in between them. Cpl. Wilson Hewes sat with Cpl. Alex Henderson, Sgt. Clyde Belle, Cpl. Ivan Zhukov, and Pvt. Hunter Reignor as they listened to Captain James Durst tell some story or another. Corporal Megan Dix stepped out of the bathroom, tucking in her shirt as she fixed her hair, followed moments later by Staff Sgt. Leon Thompson who made no attempt to hide what he had done and kept a Cheshire grin on his face as he walked over toward the table. Corporal Nicholas McMillan stood talking to Cpl. Kyle Madison and Sgt. Noel Bradford beside the door, nodding toward Al as he passed.

He began to see even further back, to British and Loum. Lieutenant Michael Hace sat with Petty Officer 2nd Class Alan Greenford, Ensign Jared Kimmerson, Chief Petty Officer Artemis Bouchard, Petty officer 1st Class Haley Schneck, and Petty Officer 3rd Class Dave Hudgins sat at their own table, toasting to the _Erich von Manstein_. Ensign Gwen Peters went over a map with Commander Cho Yu, CPO Ken Healy, PO2 Jennifer Windsor, PO1 Deacon Peters, and Ensign Daniel Jachym, each one holding mugs with emblem of the _Pandora_.

He turned his attention back to the world around him just in time to hear the final stanza of the song, realizing for the first time that he was actually still singing along, his arm over Zeek's shoulder as his foot tapped along to the beat.

"_Und läßt uns im Stich  
Einst das treulose Glück,  
Und kehren wir nicht mehr  
Zur Heimat zurück,  
Trifft uns die Todeskugel,  
Ruft uns das Schicksal ab,"_

"_Ja Schicksal ab,"_

"_Dann wird uns der Panzer  
Ein ehernes Grab."_

Jayce lowered his bottle as the final words were sung. He thought about it for a moment, going over the final few words.

"A hero's grave, huh?" he muttered to himself. "I don't know if I really believe that anymore..."

Naga looked across the table at his friend, then lifted his bottle in a toast. "To those we leave behind."

The rest of the bar toasted to it. Jayce drained the last remnants of his drink, setting it back on the table. He didn't acknowledge Krissy when she placed her hand on his under the table at first, but slowly turned his hand over and squeezed it. Across from him, Naga rolled his eyes.

- - - -

(Sorry, you'll just have to wait for my story, I just can't think of a preview...I might just get rid of it completely.)

Next time on MSG 0079: No Sympathy for the Sands of Time

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Well, I managed to once again be late for a deadline, but hey, at least it's not a year late, right? Anyways, this one was both fun and difficult to write, mainly because this was probably the first chapter I didn't write an outline for, so I was able to redo about a dozen little aspects of the story. I also went and redid the whole date and location thing, which I will go back and fix the previous ones when this is all said and done. One thing that I did enjoy was the extra little trivia items I sprinkled on the story, mainly as part of the Germanification of the Zeons.

The two songs that were included within this story are old German songs, Lili Marleen and Panzerlied. Lili Marleen was originally written during WWI as a poem entitled "Das Mädchen unter der Laterne" ("The girl under the lantern") and became better known as "Lili Marleen." It was first recorded into a song in 1939 by Lale Anderson. It became quite famous during WWII when Radio Belgrade played it frequently throughout Europe and the Mediterranean, and both Axis and Allied forces enjoyed the song. My personal favorite version is sung by Marlene Dietrich, it's quite easy to find online. Panzerlied is a well-known Wermacht song basically about...you guessed it, Panzers! It was made popular in the movie Battle of the Bulge where a group of soldiers sing the song while stomping their feet. That song is also easy to find on the internet.

As always, please read and review!


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